As Superman nears its big debut on the big screen, DC Studios is already hard at work on what’s next for their growing universe, including the heavily anticipated Supergirl film. The formerly titled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will adapt Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s modern classic comic series, but there will be a pretty major change in the form of Jason Momoa’s Lobo, who is not in the original story from the comics. DC Studios co-president James Gunn appeared on the DC Studios Showcase to talk all things DC, where hosts Frankey Smith and Tyler Coates asked Gunn about Lobo’s role in the film, and his inclusion teases a pretty significant change in how the story is framed compared to the original.
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Gunn was asked if this updated version of the story was based in any way on King’s early drafts of the comic series, as he has said in the past, Lobo was factored into the story in early versions. Gunn confirmed that this was not the case, and that Lobo isn’t an amalgamation of any parts from the original, but is unquestionably Lobo through and through.
“The truth is that Woman of Tomorrow in the comics is very much, it’s a bunch of little stories, and we needed to create one throughline, one three-act story, more traditional story,” Gunn said. “So Lobo helps us to do that. It’s not an amalgamation of him and Krem. He’s a totally separate character. He’s himself. I love Lobo. I always thought he was a great character to adapt. I think he’s maybe, in some ways, the biggest comic book character that’s never been in a film. So I think it was a cool thing to do.”
It remains to be seen how Lobo will be woven into the story, especially since Krem (played by Matthias Schoenaerts) is still in the mix and a key character in the film. It’s great to hear that Momoa’s Lobo will just get to be pure Lobo and isn’t going to have to serve a different purpose in order to be fit into the film.
Granted, changing any key element of a beloved story is always risky, and this change doesn’t come without such risks. If Lobo isn’t worked into the film in a way that allows him to shine without disrupting what works about the story as it originally stands, it will be disappointing to longtime fans of the comic, and it could also disrupt the film’s effectiveness for new fans too. Gunn seems confident that they have a solid working plan, so hopefully that bears out when the film finally hits theaters.
Gunn also spoke a bit about Milly Alcock’s casting as Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, and like Lobo previously, he had been thinking of possible choices to play the character for quite some time. “Milly was, I was just talking to Peter Safran about this. Again, before we were ever hired, and we were talking about it and going through ideas, I was like, ‘Peter, you got to read this, you know, Woman of Tomorrow.’ It was like, I think, right when it came out. I’m like, ‘It’s really good.’ Listen, I love all of Tom’s… you know. Strange Adventures is probably my favorite. I love the Mr. Miracle stuff. I love the Human Target. He’s just had all these little, great comic series. I like the Black Canary stuff now. I can’t wait to see what happens next week,” Gunn said.
“Anyway, I’m like, ‘This is great.’ And he’s like, ‘Well, who would you see as Supergirl?’ I said, ‘You see the House of the Dragon?’ Who was that little blonde girl on that?’ Like, because I wanted her to be this little, pixie-ish, but very attitudinal character. And so she was the first person I brought up, and then when we got her tape, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s pretty, she’s pretty good,” Gunn said.
Are you excited to see Jason Momoa’s Lobo make his DC Studios debut? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things DC and Supergirl with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
