Supergirl has finally landed as the second film in James Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe – and it might be the most divisive superhero movie of the year. Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El trades the cape-and-smile routine for a galaxy-spanning revenge quest, and audiences are split right down the middle.
What Is Supergirl (2026) About?
Directed by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya) and written by Ana Nogueira, Supergirl adapts Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s acclaimed comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Still haunted by the slow death of Krypton, Kara drifts across the cosmos with her dog Krypto – until a young warrior named Ruthye (Eve Ridley) begs for help avenging her murdered father. Together they hunt a killer called Krem of the Yellow Hills, and Kara’s thirst for vengeance starts to look a lot less heroic. We flagged this one as a potential game-changer back in April, and it is definitely not the Supergirl you grew up with.
A Darker, Grittier Kara
This is no bright, hopeful Metropolis story. Gillespie leans into a grimy space-western tone, and Alcock plays Kara as a hard-drinking, battle-scarred survivor – a world away from the sunny optimism of Gunn’s own Superman (2025). Jason Momoa turns up as the chaotic bounty hunter Lobo, swapping Atlantis for anarchy after his Aquaman days, while David Corenswet’s Superman waits in the wings. It is bold, it is bleak, and it is a massive tonal swing for the young DCU.
The Reviews Are In – and They’re Mixed
Critics could not agree on this one. Supergirl sits at just 54% on Rotten Tomatoes from nearly 300 reviews, with an average score hovering around 5.6/10. Some hailed Alcock as the best live-action Supergirl yet; others slammed the film as flat and emotionally distant. The consensus lands on “good, not great” – which, for a modern superhero tentpole, is dangerous territory.
A Full-Blown Box Office Bomb
Dangerous is right. Supergirl opened to a soft ~$68 million worldwide (roughly $37 million domestic) and is now projected to lose Warner Bros. as much as $125 million once everything settles. For a film that reportedly cost north of $170 million before marketing, that is a punishing result – and it instantly reignited questions about the DCU’s direction. We asked whether three DC releases in one year was too ambitious, and these numbers are not helping the case.
The Supergirl Ending, Explained (Spoilers)
⚠️ Full spoilers for the ending of Supergirl (2026) below.
Here is the twist that has fans arguing. After chasing Krem across the galaxy, Kara talks Ruthye out of killing him – sparing the girl the burden of becoming a murderer. And then, as Lobo looks on approvingly, Kara coldly executes Krem herself. It is a major departure from the source comic, where Kara lets him live. The movie frames it as Kara choosing to carry the darkness so Ruthye does not have to, before she heads back to Earth and reunites with her cousin, Superman, in the closing scene. It is a genuinely bleak, morally grey note to go out on – and whether it lands depends entirely on how you feel about a Supergirl who kills.
The Verdict
Supergirl is a fascinating, frustrating swing. Milly Alcock is magnetic and clearly born to wear the cape, but the flat execution and that divisive ending left critics and casual fans cold – and the box office paid for it. It is far from the disaster some headlines scream, but the DCU needed a home run here and got a bunt instead. Worth watching for Alcock alone. 🔥
Related on Lazybatman: Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow Preview · Superman (2025) Review · DCU 2026: Three Releases, One Year · The Batman Part II
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 sends Milly Alcock on a galactic revenge quest. Our review, the controversial changed ending explained, and why the DCU film bombed.){kind=link}