DC fans got some bad news today, with The New Gods and The Trench both being cancelled (or, in the parlance of the studio, set aside to be reapproached later). A little bit of good news buried in the report, though, suggests that the long-rumored Supergirl solo movie is still in development, presumably allowing for Sasha Calle, who is set to debut the role in the upcoming movie version of The Flash, to pursue a solo career as Superman’s cousin (and/or another Kryptonian female that better fits whatever is going on in the DC Films universe going forward post-The Flash).
Calle will be the latest live-action iteration of Supergirl, following in the footsteps of Helen Slater, who played the role in a 1984 movie, and Melissa Benoist, who currently headlines Supergirl on The CW. Set in the shared DC continuity fans call the Arrowverse, Benoist’s series is set to conclude at the end of its upcoming season.
The Arrowverse, as side note, also got a visit from Ezra Miller’s Flash in last year’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event. During DC FanDome over the summer, Warner Bros.’ Walter Hamada hinted that the “Crisis” cameo could be referenced in the upcoming movie.
Calle marks the first time the character has been played by a Latina. In the comics and on The CW’s Supergirl, Kara Zor-El is Superman’s first cousin, and is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed character. In a tie-in comic released around the time of Man of Steel, Kara Zor-El was depicted as blonde as well — but instead of being Sueprman’s cousin, she was an ancestor of his, who traveled to earth thousands of years ago and was stranded here, her scout ship being the one Clark Kent found in the movie.
After DC’s announcement that they would begin publishing comics set in the universes of the 1989 Batman and 1978 Superman movies, ComicBook speculated about whether Brandon Routh’s Superman, who was a continuation of the one played by Christopher Reeve in the ’70s and ’80s, might appear in The Flash. The music that plays behind the footage of Calle seeing the costume for the first time is a theme from the Reeve movies…and of course, Michael Keaton is set to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne in The Flash — alongside Ben Affleck, suggesting that the movie will definitely be embracing the multiverse concept.
The Flash is currently scheduled to open in theaters on November 4, 2022.