The Real Reason DC's James Gunn Cast Milly Alcock As Supergirl

The DC Universe has cast "House of the Dragon" star Milly Alcock as Supergirl following reports that she was on the short list to take on the role. Now, her victory over fellow short lister Meg Donnelly may come as a surprise to die-hard DC fans since the latter has previously voiced the Girl of Steel in the animated movies "Legion of Super-Heroes" and "Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One," but James Gunn has some strong reasons for why he decided to move forward with Alcock instead.

It turns out that the Australian actor impressed him with her performance as Rhaenyra Targaryen on "House of the Dragon" and had been the prime candidate for the role in his mind since then. "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 wrote on 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."

The news of Milly Alcock's casting as Supergirl comes several years after Melissa Benoist's turn as the Kryptonian hero on the eponymous six-season series set within the CW's Arrowverse and less than a year on the heels of Sasha Calle's first and ostensibly only appearance as the DC Extended Universe's iteration of the character in "The Flash." According to a report on the casting from Variety, another major factor influencing James Gunn's decision was his desire to differentiate the DCU's version from these previous portrayals as well as Meg Donnelly's.

It seems that Gunn and co-CEO Peter Safran took the casting of the new version of Supergirl particularly seriously, with sources telling Variety that they conducted formal auditions with their short list of actors on the set of the upcoming film "Superman: Legacy" in a process that even saw each actor wearing Supergirl's costume. Ultimately, it seems the results reaffirmed Gunn's desire to have Alcock take on the role.

For the moment, it's unclear which project will feature Alcock's debut, but rumors suggest that Gunn's Supergirl might debut in the DCU sooner than fans think. Whatever the case, she's set to lead a solo film titled "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow," which will see the hero embarking on an epic spacefaring adventure alongside Krypto the Superdog in celebration of her 21st birthday. Details on the timing of the film's release are yet to come.