Unkempt, party-loving, and chaotic, “Supergirl” returns to the big screen with an image far removed from the perfection and optimism traditionally associated with superheroines—though with a stronger sense of hope, according to screenwriter Ana Nogueira.
“It’s pretty easy to be optimistic when everything is going well, or when everything in your past has gone well—it’s much easier. But when you’ve experienced as many losses as she has, that hope and optimism become harder to maintain,” says Nogueira in an interview with EFE.
Played by Milly Alcock (“House of the Dragon”), Kara Zor-El, better known as ‘Supergirl,’ is a young woman who lives on the fringes of traditional heroism: she parties until she gets drunk, lives with a hangover, has a spaceship in disarray, and an apparent lack of direction in life that is only mitigated by the company of her dog.
In the film directed by Craig Gillespie, the protagonist must almost unwittingly embark on an adventure to help an orphaned girl seek revenge, while confronting her own pessimism and an identity crisis that will force her to rethink her role as a heroine and her ability to do good.
This dark, almost nihilistic view of life contrasts with the optimism, innocence, and light associated with his cousin, Clark Kent, as well as with the version portrayed by Helen Slater, who brought the first Kara to life in the 1980s, immortalizing the character in a blue suit and red miniskirt modeled after Superman’s.
“I think (Supergirl) is still a symbol of hope, but it’s a stronger kind of hope, because it’s a hope that emerges after loss and grief,” explains the screenwriter.
The film’s more realistic tone is inspired by Tom King’s comic book *Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow*, which follows a young Kara Zor-El raised on her home planet, where she witnessed her world, her people, and her family being destroyed and perishing before her eyes.
The character’s complex backstory fascinated Nogueira, who was interested in the moral and personal conflict that a 21-year-old woman might face as the cousin of a figure as idealized as Superman.
“It’s not just the fact of having suffered so many losses, but of coming to this planet and having Superman as your only family member… Talking about hope and optimism—for me, that would breed a certain cynicism, perhaps nihilism, but also just a kind of general bad mood, or the feeling that she’s not good enough for him, which is what I think she feels,” he notes.
Ruthye (Eve Ridley), the alien girl seeking justice after her family was murdered—whom Kara has decided to help—becomes the mirror the heroine needs to recognize herself.
“In this movie, she can see herself as a heroine to that little girl in a way she hadn’t been able to before, and that helps her find herself,” Nogueira notes.
Nogueira is also the screenwriter behind the upcoming reboot of “Wonder Woman,” the previous version of which starred Israeli actress Gal Gadot; although no release date has been set, the project is currently in development.
“In general, I’m drawn to what makes a character rich,” says the writer. “I love writing for women; I love bringing great female characters to the screen, but I also like writing for young men,” she adds.
In that regard, it describes Kara as a character who transcends gender, with a story set in the new DC Universe that began with the 2025 release of “Superman,” directed by James Gunn, according to Agencia EFE.