Milly Alcock reveals the one quirky trait Supergirl shares with squirrels

Milly Alcock says her Supergirl borrows from squirrels for an unexpected twist on a key detail.

File this under delightful things I did not expect to type: Supergirl owes a key part of her look to... squirrels. Yes, squirrels. And once you see it, you cannot unsee it.

The poster pose? That came from a squirrel landing

Milly Alcock has that now-ubiquitous Supergirl poster stance — the power landing with one fist planted, the other arm trailing back. When she stopped by The Tonight Show on June 24, 2026, she explained the very specific inspiration. An on-set stills photographer pointed out that the way she was hitting the ground looked exactly like how squirrels land. She checked the photos online, and sure enough: same energy, same angles, tiny woodland parkour but with a cape.

It is a weirdly perfect fit. Squirrels are quick, nimble, and braced for impact — not a bad template for a Kryptonian dropping out of the sky. The movie seems to be leaning into those kinds of visual choices throughout, too. Even sequences with Supergirl's superdog were approached with a distinct style, and the props department built custom pieces specifically for this production. Small detail, but it tells you the team is thinking about texture, not just VFX.

Gunn's Supergirl: comic-book roots, more human edges

James Gunn 's DCU take keeps the comic DNA but is aiming for something a little rougher and more emotionally grounded than the standard glossy savior arc. Director Craig Gillespie and Alcock have even pointed to True Grit as a north star — that road-movie feel with a tough, reluctant hero who evolves because of the younger person traveling with them. In this case, that younger character is Ruthye. If you know the comics, that tracks.

Learning Kryptonian in a hurry (thanks, House of the Dragon )

Alcock told Cinemark she had only a few weeks to learn Kryptonian for the film. Her solution was to dust off the same playbook she used for High Valyrian on House of the Dragon: repetition, structure, and a lot of audio drills.

"I did kind of the same thing I did on House of the Dragon with High Valyrian. I would get it sent as an audio track, then I would get it phonetically written out, and then I would get it written all together."

According to her castmates, it worked — she was sliding between English and Kryptonian on set without missing a beat. Not bad for a crash course in a made-up language.

So, to sum up the vibe here: comic-book bones, a True Grit road-trip spine, and a superhero pose reverse-engineered from a squirrel landing. Odd combo, sure, but it actually makes sense. And honestly, anything that kills the tired three-point landing cliche gets my vote.