'Supergirl' shows new DC universe is working – just not at the box office
'Supergirl' shows new DC universe is working – just not at the box office
Brian Truitt, USA TODAYMon, June 29, 2026 at 12:30 PM UTC
0
It’s still early days in the rebooted DC movie universe. The prevailing theme does seem obvious, however: no Batman, no problem.
Led by DC Studios honchos James Gunn and Peter Safran, this new DCU has come out blazing. Last summer’s hit “Superman” was an excellent start, with a dynamite Man of Steel in David Corenswet. (If people liken you to Christopher Reeve, you’re doing all right.) Now the iconic character’s cousin – played by Australian actress Milly Alcock – features in her own solo space adventure with “Supergirl." With an estimated $38 million opening weekend, she's going to need some serious help to reach Supes' $354 million domestic haul – third-highest for all of 2025.
So, yeah, it's a ways off from zooming past Marvel as the cinema and TV’s preeminent superhero galaxy, even if the home of Spider-Man, Captain America and Black Panther isn’t the creative powerhouse it once was. But the MCU from its start was about A-list stars (Robert Downey Jr.!) and connective threads (Avengers assembling, Infinity Stones, et al), while the new DCU seems to be more about personalities and vibes. And so far, it’s working.
Though not, ahem, a super start, it’s definitely going better than the old DCU. That started off with Zack Snyder’s disappointing, tonally odd “Man of Steel” and forcing an Avengers-esque Justice League squad together by its second movie, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Sure, Batfleck was a thing for a hot minute, but over the course of several movies, the “Snyder-verse” never found its footing, critics piled on, and audiences were split.
Enter Gunn, whose “The Suicide Squad” was one of the lone bright spots of that era. With him in charge, the filmmaker has infused the funky energy and bighearted soul of his “Guardians of the Galaxy” films into the nascent DCU.
Superman’s a really nice guy again, even if Clark Kent’s not the best journalist. (I’d get a talking-to if I interviewed myself for a story.) Supergirl is a jaded punk-rock youngster who has a cool dog and gets drunk to cope with past trauma. John Cena’s title character on the TV series “Peacemaker” started as a murderous supervillain in "The Suicide Squad" and has become a complicated but likable antihero finally dealing with a litany of issues.
In the comic books, Marvel has long been known for its grounded, street-level heroes, while DC became famous for its godlike figures. Gunn’s DCU has flipped that script in a sense. For example, the upcoming "True Detective"-style series "Lanterns" (premiering Aug. 16 on HBO Max) follows a couple of space cop Green Lanterns, grizzled veteran Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and fresh-faced rookie John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), investigating a murder in Oklahoma. And it took Marvel years to even do something akin to horror, while the DCU is going full scary movie in October with “Clayface,” based on a B-list Batman villain.
Advertisement
Those are big swings, yet ones they can afford to do. Whether the much-ballyhooed “superhero fatigue” is a real thing or just a buzzy phrase bandied about by people who don’t dig the capes-and-tights crew, recent Marvel movies don’t have the juice they once did.
The unevenness of the MCU’s current “Multiverse Saga” has even been a joke in its own films (see: “Deadpool & Wolverine”) – though we're bound to forget all that if July's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" with Tom Holland lives up to great expectations and if “Avengers: Doomsday” is awesome come December. (Folks, we’re getting Downey as Marvel big bad Doctor Doom and Jason Momoa as DC fan-favorite Lobo in the same year. Old-school comic fans are eating well, as the kids say.)
The new DCU? In no hurry for a saga. “Superman” introduced Supergirl as well as a whole bunch of colorful characters who can populate various future projects – like Daily Planet reporter Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), who's getting his own “DC Crime” spinoff show. But outside of a Corenswet appearance, “Supergirl” is a stand-alone flick. No post-credits scene with the Justice Gang, no random appearance from the Creature Commandos.
Maybe there might be hints to a bigger story in next year’s “Superman” sequel “Man of Tomorrow” – like, say, to Darkseid, DC’s answer to Thanos for the non-nerds. Gunn, though, understands people are more excited to see two powerful cousins hang out again or to revisit that heated rivalry between Supes and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).
Here’s how confident the DCU is: It doesn’t even have a Batman. Arguably the most famous character in DC lore? Don’t need him. Maybe Gunn brings in Robert Pattinson as his resident Dark Knight at some point – he’s off filming in his own universe right now with "The Batman 2" – but there doesn’t seem to be anyone in the main DCU rushing to turn on the Bat-signal yet.
For now, the vibes are pretty good without him.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Supergirl' with Milly Alcock shows new DC universe is working
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
