Supergirl (2026) Review: A Star Waiting for Her Story

Is Supergirl worth watching?

It depends on what you want from a superhero film. Supergirl has a genuinely exciting new lead in Milly Alcock and a scene-stealing Jason Momoa, but the story around them rarely rises above a familiar revenge-quest template. Alcock plays Kara Zor-El with a scrappy, bruised swagger that sets her apart from her famous cousin, and the film is at its liveliest whenever it simply follows her attitude. What holds it back is a script that sands down its most interesting ideas and action scenes that too often blur together.

What is Supergirl about?

Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) is Superman’s cousin, a survivor of Krypton who, unlike him, remembers the world that was lost. When a ruthless enemy, Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts), destroys what little family she has left, Kara sets off across the galaxy to hunt him down. Along the way she is reluctantly paired with a determined young ally, Ruthye (Eve Ridley), and pursued by the chaotic bounty hunter Lobo (Jason Momoa), all while wrestling with whether justice can survive her rage.

Supergirl is directed by Craig Gillespie, the filmmaker behind I, Tonya, and is the second feature in the rebooted DC film universe after James Gunn’s Superman. It is an American production in English, runs 108 minutes and was released in June 2026. David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham round out the cast.

Milly Alcock makes Kara her own

The best decision the film makes is its casting. Alcock plays Kara not as a sunny echo of Superman but as a young woman who has already lost a planet and carries that grief as anger. She is funny, abrasive and physically confident, and she gives even throwaway lines a spiky energy. When the film lets her be difficult rather than likeable, it feels distinct from anything else in the genre.

Her scenes with Eve Ridley’s Ruthye are the emotional core. The pairing of a furious, super-powered survivor and a stubborn young companion gives the film a road-movie shape, and the two actors build a prickly rapport that is more affecting than the plot around them.

Jason Momoa’s Lobo and the space-western mood

Momoa is a natural fit for Lobo, the anarchic bounty hunter comic fans have long wanted to see on screen, and the film uses him as a jolt of chaotic comedy whenever the revenge plot grows heavy. His energy is infectious, and his scenes are among the most purely entertaining in the film. Matthias Schoenaerts’s Krem, by contrast, is written mainly as a target for Kara’s anger, which gives the story a clear goal but leaves the villain less vivid than he needs to be.

The structure borrows the space-western shape of Tom King’s comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which inspired the film: a long journey across strange worlds in pursuit of a killer. It is a smart choice for a hero defined by loss, and it gives the film a different texture from the city-bound superhero stories that surround it.

Where the script plays it safe

The trouble is that the story feels assembled from spare parts. Its structure, a series of stops across the galaxy, becomes episodic, and some mid-story exposition feels more like franchise housekeeping than storytelling. The action, while competent, leans on effects-heavy fights that start to feel interchangeable in the second half, and the film’s more interesting questions about vengeance and mercy are raised and then settled too neatly.

It is also slightly caught between tones. Momoa’s comedy, Kara’s grief and the villain’s cruelty never quite settle into one consistent register, which makes the film enjoyable in moments rather than as a whole.

Who should watch Supergirl?

It is a good pick for DC fans following the new shared universe, for viewers who enjoyed Alcock in House of the Dragon and want to see her lead a blockbuster, and for anyone who likes superhero stories with a road-movie structure. At 108 minutes it moves efficiently. Expect action violence, a few cruel moments involving the villain and themes of grief and revenge, which make it better suited to teenagers than to young children.

If you want more superhero fare:

• Superman, James Gunn’s warmer, more hopeful launch for the same universe, and the natural companion piece.
• Thunderbolts*, for another recent superhero film built around a heroine working through loss.
• More from our science fiction shelf, for other galaxy-spanning adventures.

The verdict

Supergirl proves that Milly Alcock can carry a superhero film and gives Jason Momoa one of the most fun roles of his career, but it wraps them in a story that feels too familiar to match their energy. It is a promising first outing for this Kara, and an uneven film.