While DC Studios' upcoming film "Supergirl" is adapted from Tom King and Bilquis Evely's acclaimed comic series "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow," director Craig Gillespie recently revealed in an interview that he intentionally avoided reading the source material when he first took on the project.
In an interview with Everyman Cinema, Gillespie stated, "I very deliberately didn't look at Tom King's book when I first got the script. I went off of Ana Nogueira's script. And there was a grit to that, and I really wanted to come from character. Kara's going to all of these different worlds that are on the fringe of society. I wanted to feel the poverty. I wanted to feel the crime and the dust and the texture."
He further explained that after reading the screenplay, he aimed to create a space environment audiences hadn't experienced before. To achieve this, he first gathered extensive visual references, compiling approximately 120 images to pitch his aesthetic vision to DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran. It was only after establishing this visual direction that he revisited and read the "Woman of Tomorrow" comic.
The original comic was initially pitched as a team-up adventure between Supergirl and Lobo, though the final version did not include Lobo. The film adaptation, however, marks Jason Momoa's official debut as Lobo in the DCU, a significant departure from the comic.
"Supergirl" stars Milly Alcock in the titular role. She is also set to reprise her role in next year's "Man of Tomorrow," an upcoming DCU film scheduled for release in 2027.