She’s only on screen for a few seconds, but Supergirl’s appearance in James Gunn’s Superman (2025) leaves a lasting impression because she is, or should be, responsible for Krypto the dog, a true scene-stealer in the film based on the DC comic. Kara Zor-El, Supergirl’s real name, is the hero’s cousin, and her introduction hinted at the direction things were headed: a rebellious and boisterous teenager, a very appealing archetype for the production company’s target audience. This image was reinforced by the recently released trailer.
To the tune of Blondie’s Call Me, we see Krypto the dog urinate on a newspaper article about Superman and Kara wake up with a hangover before the trailer launches into a barrage of action and special effects. At the helm of this blockbuster is Milly Alcock, the teenage Rhaenyra Targaryen from House of the Dragon. This time, Gunn isn’t behind the camera; instead, it’s Craig Gillespie, responsible for movies including I, Tonya and Cruella, and we’ll be able to judge the result on June 26, 2026. By then, 42 years will have passed since the character created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino first appeared on the big screen, the disastrous outcome of which effectively sealed the fate of superheroine films.
For many, Supergirl pre-Alcock and Gillespie was embodied by former Glee student Melissa Benoist, but fans of the genre will remember that in the early 1980s Supergirl was meant to be a breath of fresh air amid signs of decline in the Superman universe.
Peter O’Toole and Helen Slater in ‘Supergirl’ (1984).Courtesy Everett Collection
After the disappointing reception of Superman III, it was believed that Supergirl would breathe new life into the formula and also bring a different audience into theaters. “Tapping into the female audience was certainly part of it and also, especially, it was something different,” producer Ilya Salkind admitted to SciFiNow. “So, I came up with the idea of doing Supergirl instead of another Superman movie.”
The original idea had been to introduce the character in the third Superman installment, but this was scrapped in favor of giving Supergirl her own film. Of course, it was to be introduced by her famous cousin — a foolproof plan, at least until Christopher Reeve pulled out because he wasn’t “comfortable with the project.” In other words, he felt he wasn’t being paid enough. The script had to be rewritten. Viewers would have to settle for the presence of Jimmy Olsen, Clark Kent’s photographer friend, and a new character: Lucy Lane, Lois’s sister.
Instead of an epic joint adventure, the film devolved into a rather clichéd story. Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin and resident of Argo City, a Kryptonian community that survived the planet’s destruction, ends up on Earth in search of the Omegahedron, an incredibly powerful artifact that has fallen into the hands of Selena, a mediocre witch. Once on our planet, Kara develops the abilities of Supergirl and, to remain undetected, maintains a double life as the high school student Linda Lee.
Helen Slater in ‘Supergirl’ (1984).Stanley Bielecki Movie Collectio (Getty Images)
The plot was very similar to that of Superman, and its production scheme was identical. The Salkinds wanted an unknown actress in the lead role, although names like Brooke Shields were suggested but quickly dismissed. Instead, they held auditions that attracted most of Hollywood’s young up-and-comers, including Demi Moore and Melanie Griffith, and finally settled on Helen Slater, a drama student who had barely appeared in a handful of television episodes.
It didn’t help that Peter O’Toole and Faye Dunaway, who played Selena, were far from their best, something underlined by their Razzie nominations for their work in the film. O’Toole’s problems with alcohol were evident, but Slater has fond memories of him. Working with Dunaway wasn’t so pleasant. The star of Network had received disastrous reviews after playing Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest and was looking to redeem herself. Although perhaps she was the only one unaware that the film wasn’t the right vehicle for her. While she tried to shine in every scene, the director opted for restraint. “I was furious with Jeannot Szwarc. Every time I tried to do something funny, he wouldn’t let me,” Dunaway recalled years later. Brenda Vaccaro, who played her henchwoman, suffered the most. She considers Dunaway a brilliant actress, but argues that she “terrified people.”
A promotional image of Faye Dunaway for ‘Supergirl’ (1984).Stanley Bielecki Movie Collectio (Getty Images)
However, with age, Slater came to realize that perhaps Dunaway’s reputation for being difficult had a different origin. Years later, Slater excused her and offered a different perspective on the story of actresses with a reputation for being “difficult.” “Now, as an older actress, I see how vulnerable women are. I don’t think we have the same opportunities as men, and there may be more judgment or criticism directed at us: we’re labeled as difficult when perhaps it’s simply a matter of asking for what you want or having certain standards for how you want to work.”
Helen Slater in ‘Supergirl’ (1984).Everett/Cordon Press
The budget cuts that Supergirl suffered affected the script. “[Screenwriter David Odell] wrote something pretty fantastic but it would have been a $200 million budget, so we had to cut it down as it was far too expensive,” Salkind explained years later. “In the Odell script Selena literally took over the world and that implied a lot more spending and special effects and all kinds of things, so we had to pare it down… I think we lost a lot of things that were very good but it would’ve been too expensive.”
From conquering the universe, she went on to conquer a small American town, and from the great feats expected of the heroine, she went on to fight with an excavator. In fact, there are moments when it seems more like a catfight for a man’s heart. Due to the misuse of a love potion, both women fall for a groundsman, and he becomes one of the driving forces of the plot. Nobody expected a story that would receive Gloria Steinem’s applause, but neither did they expect that the main feature would be that Supergirl had supposedly masculine characteristics and her romantic interest, once drugged by the potion, would become a jumble of feminine clichés such as physical weakness or exaggerated sensitivity.
Peter O’Toole in ‘Supergirl’ (1984).Photoshot (Idols/Photoshot / Cordon Press)
Changes to the script and the absence of Reeve’s Superman led to alarming results at early screenings, and the runtime was shortened by half an hour. But even at just an hour and a half, Warner considered it a hot potato and eventually sold it to Tri-Pictures. It was meant to be the big summer release, but fearing competition from the Los Angeles Olympics, it was postponed until Christmas. Its number-one box-office debut was a fluke; the following week, it plummeted.
Promotional image of Helen Slater for ‘Supergirl’ (1984).
At the time, Slater’s performance was not well-received, and producer Salkind admitted that casting Shields would have been more profitable. But over time, fans of the film — a growing group thanks to its success in video stores and television broadcasts — have come to appreciate the actress’s work. An affection she reciprocates: unlike many stars who disown their roles in action films, Slater returned to the DC universe, playing Superman’s mother in Smallville and Supergirl’s adoptive mother in the Benoist-led television version (2015-21).
She only has fond memories of the disaster that hindered the inclusion of women in superhero films for decades and stalled her burgeoning career. “I was 18, I had just graduated from performing arts high school, I took a gap year to see if I could get some acting work, and I got the lead role in this great movie. For me, that overshadows everything. I went from living in anonymity with my mother in New York to this dazzling experience. I’m grateful for what happened. Supergirl changed my life.”
Original poster for ‘Supergirl’ (1984). / Cordon Press
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