I, Tonya and Cruella filmmaker Craig Gillespie has been tapped by DC Studios to direct their upcoming Supergirl pic, which will feature Milly Alcock in the title role. Deadline broke the news on Wednesday, adding that the plan is to start filming in Q4 this year after James Gunn has wrapped production on Superman. That will open the can for the newly-created DCU continuity, and Alcock’s Supergirl is set to appear in the film (the size of her role is still TBA).
What’s also interesting about this is that all of the trades are referring to the movie as Supergirl, as opposed to the first-announced title, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. This might be to mirror the recent title change of Superman: Legacy to Superman.
Gillespie might have been seen as an unconventional choice at first, given that most people were probably expecting a female filmmaker to step in. But his filmography is something to envy, having amassed critical hits that also played as commercial movies, from the Margot Robbie-fronted I, Tonya to the Cruella live-action remake that was much better than it had any right to be. He also directed the Hulu series, Pam & Tommy. His last project was last fall’s Dumb Money, which if nothing else, will be remembered for its outstanding ensemble.
Playwright-turned-screenwriter Ana Nogueira has been at the keyboard since late 2023 and could have a draft by now. Gunn, one of the studio heads, is busy with Superman, but there probably has been enough coordination with the lead actress, who will probably have the role model after her, and the DC co-head, Peter Safran, to get it to a good place — at least one solid enough to bring a director in. The story is set to be loosely based on the Tom King comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
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No release date has been announced so far for Supergirl. The film was the fourth of a five-film slate announced in January 2023, and though it was never confirmed that they would be made/released in that order, that was the working assumption. For now, it’s definitely gaining a lot more momentum than the other two films, The Authority (which doesn’t have a director reported to be attached, though there were mumblings about Matthew Vaughn being in the mix) and The Brave and the Bold, which enlisted Andy Muschietti last year.
Last but not least, James Mangold was confirmed in 2023 to be developing Swamp Thing for them, but that’s way down the line for now. Mangold is currently shooting A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet for Searchlight, and is set to start working on his Star Wars movie as soon as that’s done.
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DC Studios kicks off its new era of films and motion picture media with Superman, which will be hitting theaters on July 11, 2025. The film will star David Corenswet as Clark Kent, aka Superman, and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Nicholas Hoult will star opposite them as the nefarious Lex Luthor.
What do you think of the choice of Craig Gillespie directing Supergirl? Were you expecting something like this, or did this come out of nowhere for you too? Do you have any predictions for what the story might be about? Let us know your thoughts on our social media and our Discord server!
SOURCE: Deadline
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