Sasha Calle was cast as Supergirl in the upcomingThe Flashfilm in February and, while much work has been put into preserving the secrecy around who Calle will really be playing, more evidence continues to arise that hints toward an answer. While there’s still no certainty, all that has emerged seems to suggest that Andy Muschietti will likely be taking a new direction with the character.
While the entirety ofthe Flashmovie appears to be based on theFlashpointuniverse, it has already demonstrated that it will be bringing several new elements to the world. This is especially truein consideration of Supergirl’s characterin the storyline. Already, what has been shown of her makes it clear that this version of Supergirl stands out as different. She doesn’t seem to hold the classic features of Kara and she doesn’t sport the usual supergirl costume either.
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By looking at visual evidence alone, there’s Muschietti’s initial Instagram post of Supergirl’s “S” in aMan of Steelstyle.There’s alsoThe FlashTrailerthat gives a brief glimpse of the top of her suit, and of course the set photos that reveal Calle in a suit with pants and, in some images, a cape. The biggest hint, however, seems to have come from Tom Taylor, the original writer of the Lara Lane-Kent Supergirl. On June 20th, he took to Twitter, boasting of the similarities between Calle’s Supergirl look and Lara’s. He was then sure to mention that he did not mean to suggest that she would actually be Lara, only intensifying the mystery.
Beyond these examples, insider evidenceclings to secrecy, often not referring to Supergirl with a specific name or implying that she will still be Kara Zor-el/Kara Danvers. To say that they’re sticking to true masked hero fashion in not revealing who it is, is an understatement. Despite these efforts to contain the truth, fans are still digging for answers in the few resources that exist. Looking at those, the images suggest that she may be Lara Lane-Kent, the daughter of Lois Lane and Clark Kent, part of theInjusticeuniverse.
While some fans may be reluctant to the thought of usinga version of Supergirlthat’s not the most commonly known, there are many possible reasons for doing so that point to it being a wise choice. Firstly, by not using Kara, the Supergirl most fans are familiar with, they’re allowing themselves more freedom in writing Supergirl to fit their universe. This also suggests to the audience that this universe will be bringing other new things into this story line. It could also be that using a version of Supergirl that so much resembles Superman allows her to fill his role in this film.Like father, like daughter, perhaps?
It could simply be that they chose a version of Supergirl –whether she’s Lara or a new take on Kara– that they felt the world needed at this time. She is Latina and dresses closer to how Superman does, with short, dark hair. This is considerably different from the skirt-sporting blonde Supergirl that fans are used to seeing. The purpose of her character could simply be to demonstrate that a woman’s strength goes far beyond her looks, making her a prime role model for little girls in the audience and the kind of heroadult women can appreciateas well.
Again, no matter what her identity really is, her looks suggest that her role in this world will also be different. A lot of obvious effort has gone into making a big deal of her identity and setting her apart from preconceived views of Supergirl. Perhaps Muschietti is creating an opportunity to do something entirely new with her character, whatever that may be. On that note, it could be that the reason for keeping Supergirl’sidentity secret until the film’s releaseis simply to build suspense for the reveal of who it will be. It’s also possible they’re doing it with the intent of suspending the audience’s expectations for the character. This could be the case because she plays a different role in the story or has a different origin story than we’ve seen before, regardless of which version she is.
No matter which identity is revealed in theatres next year, it’s safe to assume that because so much attention has been placed on her, that this won’t be the last viewers see of thismystery form of the heroine. In fact, whileThe Flashmovie will introduce Calle’s Supergirl to the DCEU universe, a movie that’s focused entirely on her is already in the plans, though little has been said about it at this point. No matter how familiar fans are with the version of Supergirl that this will be, it’s clearly the intention that she will be different than she’s existed before. Calle’s Supergirl has seemingly been designed to stand out, which will hopefully make the entire film,The Flash, stand out as well.
