“She was the first person I brought up”: James Gunn Reveals Why He Chose Milly Alcock for Supergirl After Waching House of the Dragon
Australian actress Milly Alcock gained recognition after she starred as young Rhaenyra Targaryen in HBO’s House of the Dragon in 2022. The young actress was not only appreciated for her stellar performance in the show but was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Critics Choice Award. Alcock will soon be seen in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe.
On Monday, the young actress was officially announced as the one taking on the role of Supergirl in Gunn and Safran’s DC Universe’s upcoming movie Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Director and co-CEO of DC Studios James Gunn has now explained why and when he thought that Milly Alcock was perfect for Supergirl.
James Gunn explains why Milly Alcock was the one for Supergirl
Filmmaker and now co-CEO of DC Studios, James Gunn announced on Monday via social media platform Threads that Milly Alcock, known for playing Rhaenyra Targaryen is now a part of DCU. With his announcement, it was confirmed that the young Australian actress is going to portray the character of Supergirl in the upcoming Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
In a following thread, Gunn went on to explain how he decided to cast Milly Alcock for the part. He wrote,
“In case you missed this exciting news yesterday. Strangely, Milly was the first person I brought up to Peter Safran for this role; well over a year ago, when I had only read the comics.”
Gunn continued to write in threads,
“I was watching House of the Dragon & thought she might have the edge, grace, & authenticity we needed for the DCU’s Supergirl. And now here we are. Life is wild sometimes.”
James Gunn later took to his Instagram to announce that the young actress will be playing the iconic character adding that he is incredibly excited about her joining DCU. Gunn once again acknowledged that he first saw Alcock in House of the Dragon but he was blown away by her audition and screen test for the part. The young actress beat Emilia Jones and Meg Donnelly for the part.
Milly Alcock’s Supergirl to be a very ‘different type of Supergirl‘
James Gunn and Peter Safran during a press conference held at Warner Bros. studios in 2023 shared the first ten movies and TV series titles under their rebooted DC Universe.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow was also announced as one of the upcoming movies at the time which is based on the 2022 comic book series by Tom King with Bilquis Evely; the illustrator. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is being written by Ana Nogueira. It has been reported that Alcock’s version of the superhero is expected to have a darker and even more hardcore personality compared to the traditional way Supergirl is expected to be played.
Gunn at the time said via Deadline,
“We see the difference between Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from the time he’s an infant, versus Supergirl, who was raised on a rock chip off of Krypton, and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 year of her life and then came to Earth when she was a young girl. She is much more hardcore; she’s not exactly Supergirl we’re used to seeing.”
Previously Helen Slater and Sasha Calle have portrayed the character on-screen with Melissa Benoist portraying the character in Arrowverse. Actress Laura Vandervoort played Supergirl in the prequel series Smallville. No director has been attached to the project as of now and it is not confirmed if Alcock will appear in Superman: Legacy which is scheduled for a July 11th, 2025 release.
House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO.
