Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow

Will Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow be the big screen treatment for this character we’ve never really seen before? It’s starting to shape up that way with the recent announcements coming out for Warner Bros. for the DC Cinematic Universe.

There was a bit of nervous excitement back in November 2022 when Warner Bros Discovery announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be the co-chiefs for its new DC Studios. It immediately brought questions to everyone’s minds as to what direction they two would take DC and what would happen to the projects already completed.

Well, now we know, as Gunn and Safran recently outlined their vision with 10 DC Universe projects that look to stabilize a once very unstable DC. One of these projects (or maybe more than one) took DC followers by surprise when it was announced that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was on the list of future DC projects.

IT IS BASED ON A POPULAR COMIC BOOK RELEASE

The surprise here centers around the fact that the comic, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, is a 2021 eight-issue release, so it hasn’t had much time to settle into the public’s consciousness.

The comic hails from writer Tom King and illustrator Bilquis Evely and presents a much different take on the Kara Zor-El we’ve come to know in the past. What makes this story unique is that it is told from a new character’s perspective, and it is set completely in space.

THE SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW COMIC PLOT COULD BE PUT RIGHT INTO A MOVIE

*Warning: Spoilers for the comic book series coming here shortly*

The guess here is that the film will take on the same track as the comic book series. The comic book introduces a brand-new character, Ruthye, who tells the story. Ruthye and Kara come together as Ruthye is looking for justice for her father’s death.

The brilliance of the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic is that it takes Supergirl to places not seen before while also putting her in situations where she is unable to use her superpowers but instead has to think her way out of situations dangerous to her.

The series begins with Kara visiting a planet that is orbiting a red sun because, well, it is her birthday and she is there to get drunk, simple as that. But being near the red sun takes away her superpowers, which leaves her, and her companion Krypto, quite vulnerable to any and all attacks.

Even when Supergirl returns from the planet, her powers do not return to her so quickly. Even though she is useless in that regard, Ruthye approaches her to ask for her help in taking down Krew of the Yellow Hills, for it was he who killed Ruthye’s father. Seeing things through Ruthye’s eyes is a great way to tell Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’s story, as it allows fans a much different look at the famed superhero.

King, who is well known for his fantasy adventure comic Omega Men, finally brings back that sense of medieval to Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Ruthye’s planet has a major medieval flavor to it, so it is something King leans on, much to many readers’ delight. It is also fun to watch Ruthye as she comes from this environment into places, planets, and worlds that she can’t quite understand.

Everyone who has followed both Superman and Supergirl knows and understands that Kryptonite is what makes them tick. There have been a number of different types of kryptonite introduced over the many years, so when Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow re-introduces red kryptonite, fans know they are in for a treat. King doesn’t steer them wrong, as this re-introduction gives Kara some rather strange, yet interesting, powers. Will these follow her into the feature film? We can hope so.

Another fun aspect of the comic that we hope makes it into the film is Comet. For those who don’t know, Comet is the Super-Horse who started off as an ancient Greek centaur who fell in love with Supergirl when he transformed into a horse. Right? Well, Comet makes an appearance in the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic book series and it would be fun to see him gallop his way into the movie as well.

Finally, the comic book series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, while hinting at villains of old, takes her to new places and new planets, which allows fans to get a look at new villains. Is this another direction the filmmakers will go, or will they decide to play it safe and stick with the tried and true? It will be interesting to see which way they choose to go.

IT’S UNCLEAR IF SASHA CALLE WILL PLAY SUPERGIRL IN THE FLASH AND WOMAN OF TOMORROW

One thing we do know about the plot of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is that it will be a very different approach to the one taken on the Melissa Benoist CW Supergirl TV series, as Gunn described the “new” Supergirl as a much more brutal and “fucked up” version than what fans have seen on the CW.

Not only is it way too early to announce a Supergirl, but it is also too early to announce the behind-the-scenes players as well. One thing we do know is that DC’s The Flash, even with star Ezra Miller’s mounting legal issues, still hit movie theaters on June 16, 2023.

It promised to bring back both Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck as Batman, but also introduced Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, making her the very first Latina actress to play the part.

The question, following that movie then, which needs to be answered is will Calle continue as Kara in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow?

So, not only do we not know yet who plays Supergirl in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, but we also do not know who Gunn has in mind to write the script or direct the film.

What we do know is that Tom King looks to play a big role in the development of the story. According to Gunn, “Tom has been one of the architects of this entire situation. He’s been one of the guys in the room with us, along with four or five other writers,” Gunn said. “I love his take on these characters. He just turns them slightly to be something very unique.”

What that ultimately means is anyone’s guess, but it can’t be a bad thing to have the original architect of the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow story involved.

THE LAST BIG SCREEN ADAPTATION WAS IN 1984

We have seen Supergirl prior to the upcoming Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, but the last time we saw a solo Kara Zor-El film was nearly 40 years ago. It happened in 1984 when a virtually unknown actress, Helen Slater, was handed the keys to the Supergirl car. Unfortunately, critics and the viewing public were Supergirl’s kryptonite.

The story follows Slater’s Kara Zor-El, who lives in Argo City, a small portion of Krypton that survived the destruction of the planet. While on the planet, a man named Zaltar has a very powerful device called the Omegahedron, one that powers Argo City, and one that Zaltar shows to Kara. A massive mishap takes the device into space, which in turn causes Kara to get into a spaceship to follow it.

As the device makes its way to Earth, so does Kara, and at the same time, she begins to transform into Supergirl. When the Omegahedron hits Earth, it is recovered by Selena, the power-hungry witch-to-be, who wants to rid herself of Nigel, the warlock she is in a relationship with. The device, under Selena’s control, only makes her more powerful than ever.

Kara, on the other hand, is still in search of the device. She takes on the identity of Linda Lee, Superman’s cousin, and enrolls in an all-girl school where she meets and befriends the younger sister of Lois Lane, Lucy Lane. But now Kara and Selena are on a collision course to battle.

Along with Slater, the film had some big names involved. Faye Dunaway played Selena, Peter O’Toole played Zaltar, Mia Farrow was Alura In-Ze, Peter Cook was Nigel, Brenda Vaccaro was Bianca, and Hart Bochner was Ethan. Also, for the fourth time, Marc McClure arrived as Jimmy Olsen, a role he played in the previous three Christopher Reeve Superman films.

Hopefully, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will fare much better than its predecessor. The poor critical response hurt the film’s box office and on a budget of $35 million to shoot the film, it only brought in $14.3 million, making it a clear box office disaster. Christopher Reeve turning down a cameo definitely hurt the film’s chances, as the entire script had to be rewritten to take Superman out of the story.

Although Supergirl was Helen Slater’s first film, the poor press didn’t hurt her career. She went on to star in films such as The Legend of Billie Jean, Ruthless People, The Secret of My Success, and City Slickers. She also did a lot of work on television, finding her way back to two DC projects when she starred in three episodes as Lara-El on the hit series Smallville, and then once again on a handful of episodes as Eliza Danvers on the series Supergirl.

THERE IS NO RELEASE DATE FOR SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW

When Gunn and Safran introduced their slate of 10 DC projects, the only release date given was for Superman Legacy, which was given a July 11, 2025 date. Other than that, and including Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, we are dateless.

Look for that to change in the near future and once it does, we will be sure to pass along all the release dates as they are announced.