‘Supergirl’ star Milly Alcock says she is ‘honored’ character is embraced as queer icon

Milly Alcock, the Australian actress set to headline DC Studios’ upcoming “Supergirl,” said Wednesday she is “honored” that fans have embraced her character as a queer icon — remarks that came during a promotional stop in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the film’s June 26 theatrical release.

Asked at the Brazilian press event what it is about Kara Zor-El that has inspired so many fans to connect with the character that way, Ms. Alcock said her own read of the role aligned with theirs.

“I’ve played a few characters that might have a potential queer through line. I have many queer friends. So honestly, I’m kind of honored,” she said.

“I’m honored that that’s happening, but I think because she doesn’t live inside the binary of what we think a woman should be, that is what makes it so special and so exciting and so new,” Ms. Alcock added.

She also indicated the interpretation matched her own understanding of Kara.

“And yeah, I kind of thought that as well. I was like, she wouldn’t. She’d do what she’d want to do in that regard anyway,” she said.

The film is adapted from “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,” a 2021 comic series by writer Tom King and artist Bilquis Evely that reimagines Kara as a morally complex, fiercely independent figure operating well outside Superman’s shadow. Cosmic Book News noted that the character has long resonated with women and gender-diverse readers who view Kara’s arc as a story about carving out a self-definition apart from Superman’s legacy. It is the second film in the new DC Universe being developed by DC Studios under James Gunn and Peter Safran, with filming having taken place between January and May 2025 at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden and on location in London and Scotland.

The Rio comments are not the first time Ms. Alcock has generated headlines on the press tour. Earlier this year, she told Vanity Fair that her experience on HBO’s “House of the Dragon” had made her aware of the scrutiny that comes with being a woman in a major franchise role.

“It definitely made me aware that simply existing as a woman in that space is something that people comment on,” Ms. Alcock said. “We have become very comfortable having this weird ownership of women’s bodies. I can’t really stop them. I can only be myself.” The remarks drew a wave of online backlash, with critics accusing her of preemptively framing the film in adversarial terms.

Ms. Alcock arrived in Rio alongside director Craig Gillespie, screenwriter Ana Nogueira and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran for the Brazilian leg of the promotional tour, which has spanned stops from a CinemaCon appearance in Las Vegas in April to this week’s events in Brazil.

“Supergirl” opens in U.S. theaters June 26, where it is currently tracking behind the second weekend for “Toy Story 5,” with some projections placing it below the opening numbers for “The Flash.”