Milly Alcock’s ‘Supergirl’ takes flight with the help of Blondie

After debuting as the character in David Corenswet's 'Superman,' 'House of the Dragon' star soars as new DC heroine

Published Jun 20, 2026  •  Last updated 24 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Milly Alcock promotes the upcoming film "Supergirl" during the Warner Bros photocall at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas on April 14, 2026. Photo by Getty Images

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He was only partway through reading Ana Nogueira’s script for Supergirl, but director Craig Gillespie already had a vision of who he wanted his star Milly Alcock to embody as the titular heroine.

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The cousin of ultimate do-gooder Superman, Gillespie didn’t see Alcock’s character as a squeaky-clean eternal optimist. This Supergirl was headstrong, determined, rebellious and a bit of a foul mouth. She marched to her own beat.

He heard Debbie Harry’s anthemic Call Me as her possible theme song. The track was originally written for 1980’s American Gigolo — but listening to it again, Gillespie thought it could also serve as the perfect introduction for Krypton’s ultimate badass.

“Blondie is a band whose aesthetic and punk attitude just fit so naturally with Supergirl,” Gillespie says in an interview from Los Angeles. “There’s something about them.”

Writer-director James Gunn, who was hired to overhaul DC’s interconnected slate of superhero films that began in earnest last summer with Superman, describes Alcock’s Supergirl as a “much more jaded character.”

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“Superman is a guy who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents, whereas Supergirl, in this story, she is a character who is raised on a chunk of Krypton. She watched everybody around her perish in some terrible way,” Gunn says.

So for most of the film, which opens in theatres this Friday, Alcock’s Kara Zor-El wears a Blondie T-shirt, eschewing the traditional costume emblazoned with the letter ‘S’ that her cousin dons.

“It was kind of the only T-shirt we thought about, before we even had approval,” Gillespie says.

Milly Alcock and Eve Ridley in a scene from ‘Supergirl.’ Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures

“It just made sense,” says Alcock, who is best known for playing a teenage version of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon, a prequel to Game of Thrones.

But in addition to Blondie, Alcock, 26, had an entire playlist of rock and roll outsiders that helped her channel the carefree Kryptonian party girl.

“I’ve sent Craig many playlists. I was listening to a lot of Amyl and the Sniffers, they are an Australian punk band. I was also listening to a lot of Fontaines D.C. … And Radiohead’s In Rainbows. That was my bag for getting into Kara,” she says.

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Alcock says Supergirl is ‘messy’ and ‘extremely flawed’

Based on Tom King’s 2021-22 Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic book series, Supergirl follows Kara as she’s in the midst of an intergalactic bender with her beloved super pooch Krypto after her cameo in last year’s Superman.

Having had to witness the demise of her home planet of Krypton, and see everyone she loves perish, Kara isn’t guided by the same altruism as Superman.

“I’m just worried that you’re not gonna find your stride here if you keep going off-world all the time, Kara. I’m worried you’re not gonna find your people,” David Corenswet’s Clark Kent/Superman says to Kara early on in the film.

She responds: “Yeah, well, that’s the thing, Clark. I have no people.”

Kara is reluctantly forced into becoming a hero when she crosses paths with a teenager named Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who’s looking for revenge on the murderous bandit Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts).

Kara initially balks at helping the teen, but when Krem shoots Krypto with a poisonous arrow, she has no choice. Krem has the only antidote that can save the pup.

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Milly Alcock and Krypto in a scene from ‘Supergirl.’ Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures

Her quest takes her across the galaxy, to planets that render her powerless, forcing her to use her wits rather than brawn to track down Krem’s gang of marauding space pirates. The movie includes another DC fan fave, the alien bounty hunter Lobo (played by Jason Momoa).

“She doesn’t seem to be aware that she doesn’t have powers in some of the fights she gets into,” Gillespie says laughing. “She’s reckless.”

Gillespie recalls seeing how a crowd reacted when he screened a clip of Kara’s first big action sequence.

“She does it in this very irreverent, reckless way. Getting shot at, almost dying, and then there’s a bit of a hide and seek game,” he says, teasing the scene. “You get all of her attitude. Even though she’s in the middle of this fight sequence, she manages to still have a lot of sass.”

Alcock wasn’t heavily invested in watching previous superhero movies, but she connected with Kara because she saw the character as one “who’s extremely flawed.”

Unlike Superman, “she’s messy and she’s not going to deal with things in the right way,” Alcock says. “Supergirl understands that most of us exist in a grey area. Most situations aren’t black and white … But her moral compass and where her heart lies is something that’s completely relatable.”

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Milly Alcock in a scene from ‘Supergirl.’ Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures

The Australian actress also gravitated to the story of Kara becoming a hero because she’s trying to save her dying dog. That odyssey is one every pet parent can see themselves taking part in.

“Krypto’s so terribly behaved, but that’s what makes him so special. Ultimately, he’s this symbol for everything she’s ever lost and everything she’s ever known on Krypton,” she says. “So, he’s a reminder for her of where she’s come from and anything that jeopardizes him is unthinkable.”

Supergirl opens in theatres June 26.

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