Commercially successful, James Gunn’s much-promoted DCU re-jig hasn’t quite become the global phenomenon Warner were hoping for.
After Warner ultimately abandoned Snyder’s MCU-challenging plans, rather than regroup and refocus on just making good quality comic book adaptations, Warner instead enlisted Marvel’s own Guardians of the Galaxy Trilogy helmer, James Gunn, to kick-start a brand new universe. And in a fashion that Snyder himself would be proud of (c.f. Rebel Moon Parts 1-to-infinity, what happened to them?), he embarked on a whole first “Chapter 1” – they couldn’t call it Phase 1 – which includes no less than seven movies, four of which have already been filmed. Some might regard this as quite a bold gambit.
… lightly enjoyable but generally frivolous projects searching for a reason to (co)exist
Generally these big billion-dollar-target franchises kick-start by knocking one out of the park – think: Iron Man, or even Snyder’s own Man of Steel. Sure, Man of Steel technically only made a nominal amount more at the Box Office than Gunn’s Superman, but it did so back in 2013, meaning Snyder got 50% more bums on seats (allowing for ticket inflation) than Gunn did in 2025. It’s not as if the critical and audience feedback was all that positive either; not quite disastrously divisive but certainly pointing towards this new vision being a little more eclectic than anybody expected, very much making Superman a team-up affair, playing into the Guardians formula, right down to its quirky sense of humour.
It also introduced us to a very different take on Supergirl, in Milly Alcock’s drunken cousin, sauntering onto the screen at the end of Superman, certainly striking out with her own take but not exactly driving interest towards the next chapter in this pre-ordained franchise. So here we are, on Part 2 of Chapter 1 of Gunn’s new universe, already potentially facing some worrying Box Office results, and seemingly yet more of the same divisive word of mouth, both critically and from audiences. Yes, it’s early days, but just how many more movies are we going to have to test drive before we’re faced with another inevitable DC universe reboot? And when will Studios dial back and focus on making a good movie in and of itself?
If Gunn’s take on Superman – replete with an entourage, jokes, and a dog sidekick – wasn’t to your tastes, then it seems hard to see how Supergirl could possibly appeal, at the outset clearly leaning hard into that drunk twenty-something party girl vibe that was already teased in the previous movie, affording a little commensurate humour as a result, but hardly establishing her as a ‘character’. And, unsurprisingly, Gunn is less interested in world-building and more interested in team-ups and snarky repartee: even without him on directorial duties here, it’s absolutely the same schtick, the through-line to his Guardians run apparent for all to see.
Based on the contemporary take on Supergirl in the Woman of Tomorrow comic run from 2021, the story follows that pitch quite closely, backdooring us into Kara’s own backstory on Krypton’s Argo (comfortably the most interesting component), but screenwriter Ana Nogueira can’t quite seem to get a handle on the clarity of the motivations in the affair, trying to contrive her way into a ticking-bomb scenario where time is running out, whilst also playing the revenge card, whilst also giving lessons on why revenge is not a good thing, whilst also trying to weave in present-day themes of toxic masculinity, InCel, gang violence, and sex trafficking.
… John Wick-lite meets Mad Max somewhere between Guardians and Rebel Moon
The end result strangely takes the form of John Wick-lite meets Mad Max in oblique off-world settings that feel somewhere between Guardians and Rebel Moon, and, even with Craig Gillespie directing, Gunn’s fingerprints are everywhere, from the rotating camera moves to the frantic ensemble action and irreverent humour (in a decade, nobody would be shocked to find Gunn actually ghost-directed it).
What’s most disappointing out of the Gillespie-Nogueira combo, though, given that the former was the helmer of the likes of I, Tonya and Cruella, is that nobody seemed to bother nailing down what the hell was up with Kara. Insanely powerful, she’s a miserable drunk… why?? Gifted a second chance by her tragic backstory, whilst that could clearly traumatise, it just felt odd that her life’s purpose was getting drunk and moaning, and basically giving up on the entire galaxy. At 23.
Despite this litany of negatives, however, Supergirl is surprisingly watchable if you try not to overthink these basics. The unusual angle of telling a smaller story allows it to focus more on establishing the character. Milly Alcock is remarkably endearing despite the lack of justification, almost selling you on her take, and certainly warming you to watching her as Supergirl. Jason Momoa has little more than a glorified cameo as Lobo, but has some infectious fun with it, and perhaps any more from him would have threatened to steal the show; and Matthias Schoenaerts is a suitably threatening villain (although there’s one moment where his (over-)powers seemed truly terribly defined, a shot which didn’t go anywhere later). There are some decent attempts at putting a very powerful lead hero into a succession of potentially fatal scenarios (they should have done more of this with Captain Marvel), however contrived that can get. And the whole thing doesn’t outstay its welcome as we ride its mercifully sub-2-hour runtime.
Ultimately, it buttons down an effective enough introduction to this character, even if it is one which feels not only like a bastardised, diluted collection of ideas from better films, but also a pretty redundant voyage too, hardly getting us all that much further than we’d have been if the Kara at the end of Superman had just sobered up, saved a single person, and realised that she should spend a little bit less time drunk and a bit more time respecting the powers she’s been gifted and the great sacrifice that got her to Earth.
… Insanely powerful, she’s a miserable drunk… why??
It’s still hard to see quite where Gunn is going with this whole universe, with no sense of cohesion so far, no guiding vision really – or not one we’re privy too – and no real indication yet of how these disparate projects are supposed to fit together (Chapter 1 includes not only these Supes movies but also body horror in Clayface and Swamp Thing movies, as well as Batman sidekicks in The Brave and the Bold, and another shot at Wonder Woman?!).
Perhaps Gunn’s Chapter One will eventually reveal a grand design that ties these disparate pieces together. Right now, though, it feels less like the confident opening act of a carefully orchestrated saga and more like a collection of lightly enjoyable but generally frivolous projects still searching for a reason to coexist.
