- James Gunn has confirmed Superman‘s full cast hasn’t been revealed yet
- The co-CEO of DC Studios won’t say who else might appear
- I’m convinced that another superhero will show up, albeit in a cameo role
Superman is less than a month away from flying into theaters and, according to James Gunn, the superhero movie’s full cast still hasn’t been revealed yet.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Gunn confirmed that there are characters in the DC Universe (DCU) film, which arrives on July 11, whose identities haven’t been publicly revealed. Asked if there are individuals who’ll appear in Superman who haven’t been announced yet, the DC Studios co-chief simply replied: “Yes.”
Predictably, Gunn’s one-word response set tongues wagging among DC comic book fans. Could Batman and/or Wonder Woman make unexpected yet crowd-pleasing cameos? What about other members of The Justice League, such as The Flash or Aquaman? Or how about Peacemaker, whose second season will launch on Max just over a month (August 21, to be exact) after Superman‘s theatrical release?
I don’t think it’ll be any of those metahumans. If Gunn is to be believed, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince haven’t even been cast in their standalone DCU Chapter One projects yet. Meanwhile, The Flash and Aquaman haven’t been mentioned by Gunn during his two and a half year stint (at the time of publication) as co-CEO of DC Studios. As for Peacemaker, I’d be very surprised if he makes his official DCU debut before Peacemaker season 2 is released. So, who could Gunn be referring to?
A not so cryptic Kryptonian cameo
In my opinion, there’s only one individual that Gunn’s reply applies to: Supergirl, aka Kara Zor-El.
Think about it. Per DC Comics lore, Kara is the only other person who survived Krypton’s destruction, is Kal-El/Superman’s cousin, and was supposed to join her blood relative on Earth to not only help raise him, but protect him while he grew up. Unfortunately, according to DC literature, her ship was knocked off-course by Krypton’s explosion and didn’t make it to Earth for another 24 years. By then, Kal-El was, unsurprisingly, all grown-up, had adopted the alias Superman, and had become one of the planet’s mightiest heroes.
Considering Kal-El is already operating as a superhero as soon as Superman‘s story begins, we won’t see much, if any, of Kara’s backstory in one of 2025’s most eagerly awaited new movies. Nevertheless, a brief cameo from the Maiden of Might – either before Superman‘s end credits roll or in a post-credits scene – would be a fun way to introduce her to audiences and tease the familial dynamic she has with her younger cousin.
Supergirl’s brief appearance in Superman would also pave the way for her own solo movie. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow – it’s now known by its simpler title Supergirl, which Gunn recently confirmed – will take flight on June 26, 2026 and, therefore, is the second DCU film that’ll arrive in theaters. It would make perfect sense, then, for Milly Alcock’s Supergirl to cameo in Superman ahead of the character’s first feature film in over 40 years.
There’s one more piece of evidence that’s convinced me Kara Zor-El will show up in Gunn’s Superman movie.
Supergirl is heavily inspired by Tom King and Bilquis Eveley’s ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ comic book. In it, Krypto the Superdog joins Kara as she embarks on a mission to help a young warrior exact revenge on the man who killed the warrior’s father. You can read more DC Studios’ film adaptation of this graphic novel via my dedicated Supergirl movie guide.
As Superman‘s first trailer and subsequent follow-up teasers have revealed, Krypto is part of this film’s roster. If he’s also going to appear in next year’s Supergirl film, there’s no better way for Kal-El to pass him onto his only surviving relative than by Kara making a brief appearance in the Man of Steel’s latest big-screen reboot.
Do you agree with me that Supergirl is all but confirmed to appear in Superman? If not here, who else could Gunn be referring to, in your view? Let me know in the comments.
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