Director Craig Gillespie talks about incorporating the Man of Steel into his cousin’s story.

How David Corenswet’s Superman factors into the Supergirl movie

Director Craig Gillespie talks about incorporating the Man of Steel into his cousin's story.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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June 25, 2026 9:00 a.m. ET

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Milly Alcock and David Corenswet in 'Supergirl'. Credit:

Warner Bros. Pictures

- *Supergirl* star Milly Alcock and director Craig Gillespie dig into David Corenswet's role.

- "It's kind of the touchstone to bounce against her moral compass," Gillespie says.

- Alcock shares how Corenswet helped her during her first day on set.

The new movies from DC Studios continue to cross-pollinate. After Supergirl (Milly Alcock) popped into Superman's standalone movie, David Corenswet's Man of Steel returns the favor for his cousin's standalone outing.

The role is a bit more than a quick cameo. Kal-El shows up during the opening minutes of *Supergirl* (in theaters this weekend) via video message to ask when Kara Zor-El plans to head back home after her birthday bender.

He reappears in a flashback sequence depicting Kara's arrival on Earth and the language barrier between them. The Kryptonian-fluent Supergirl struggles to communicate with her English-speaking cousin, who grew up in Smallville, Kan. A couple more scenes are peppered throughout.

"It's kind of the touchstone to bounce against her moral compass that she's going through and her conflict," *Supergirl* director Craig Gillespie tells **. "They talk about it a bit there. That opening scene, the discussion was, 'Do we actually do a scene with them together?' Because we have that later in the film, even though chronologically it's earlier. But I liked that it was on a video conference call and we really stay in Kara's world. It gives you a little more surprise when you finally do see them together in person later in the movie. So there were conversations about that and how to physically do it. When do we put them together? When is it dialogue? When is it voice machines?"

David Corenswet's Superman in 'Supergirl'.

Warner Bros. Pictures

*Supergirl*, inspired by the *Woman of Tomorrow* comic from Tom King (writer) and Bilquis Evely (artist), sees Kara off on a bender through the galaxy when she's approached by a young alien girl from a farming planet, Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley). Ruthye needs someone to avenge the slaughter of her family at the hands of Krem of the Yellow Hills.

Though initially reluctant, Supergirl is forced to boot and rally when Krem poisons her dog Krypto, leaving her only three days to grab the antidote he keeps on his person.

David Corenswet tells photographer to back off Milly Alcock at 'Supergirl' premiere

'Supergirl' director explains David Corenswet's role (exclusive)

The first day filming on *Supergirl* involved the scene in which Kara's pod lands in the Arctic and Superman directs her towards the Fortress of Solitude.

"I was in the pod, and I wasn't speaking English. I was like, 'Who is Kara?' 'Cause the first week was me not playing Kara when we meet her," Alcock recalls. "So I was really panicking [over] if I could do this."

Gillespie says that confusion "was great for the character."

Milly Alcock and David Corenswet at the 'Supergirl' world premiere in New York City.

David Jon/Getty

"But David was there," the actress continues. "I said to David, 'How do I do this? What should I do?' And he was very helpful with everything. It was nice to have him come back in and play against the natural tension that is created between Clark and Kara. That was really fun, honestly."

Supergirl is confirmed to return for *Man of Tomorrow*, the follow-up to *Superman* that's currently filming. So more Clark-and-Kara dynamics will feature in the future. Gillespie describes the two characters together as "this fun, almost sibling relationship."

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Alcock declines to comment on anything definitively for the next movie. "I would really love to see more of Clark and Kara together, but I don't make those choices, unfortunately," she replies. "I think they're really fun together. They're interesting."

*Supergirl* opens in theaters this weekend.

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Source: “EW Superhero”