Supergirl's Rotten Tomatoes slump raises early questions for James Gunn's DCU
Supergirl stumbles out of the gate on Rotten Tomatoes, shaking confidence in James Gunn’s DCU — here’s how critics are sizing up the franchise.
After weeks of sky-high buzz, DCU 's 'Supergirl ' just hit some turbulence with critics. Not exactly the stumble you want on film two of James Gunn 's reboot, but here we are.
The number that has everyone talking
Early reviews have 'Supergirl' sitting at 59% on Rotten Tomatoes as of now. That lands it in 'rotten' territory and well under 'Superman ' (83%). Yes, these scores move around in the first few days, but even with wiggle room, this is one of the softer receptions for a modern DC release — and it arrives very early in the new DCU's life cycle.
- Supergirl: 59% (currently 'rotten', tying 'Wonder Woman 1984')
- The Flash: 63%
- Aquaman: 66%
- Blue Beetle: 78%
- Superman: 83%
Worth noting: a lot of critics are not coming for Milly Alcock. In fact, many call her the best thing in the movie. The complaints tend to orbit the choices around her — the way the story is put together, the tone, the overall creative direction.
Where this leaves Gunn's bigger plan
'Supergirl' is only the second theatrical chapter of the rebooted DCU, which is why this reaction stings more than usual. It also lands in a busy stretch for the franchise: it arrives between 'Superman' and the already-announced 'Man of Tomorrow', while projects like 'Clayface' and 'The Brave and the Bold' are still waiting their turn. A wobble here does not doom the plan, but it does raise eyebrows about momentum.
Marketing is pushing hard
DC Studios dropped a fresh clip on June 22, 2026 to keep interest up heading into release week. The movie starts rolling out internationally on June 24 before opening wide in theaters on June 26.
Story, cast, the whole setup
The film follows Kara Zor-El on a cosmic road trip with young Ruthye Marye Knoll, which eventually puts them on a collision course with Krem of the Yellow Hills. The cast: Milly Alcock as Supergirl, Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem, Eve Ridley as Ruthye, Jason Momoa making his DCU entrance as Lobo, and David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham as Kara's parents, Zor-El and Alura In-Ze.
Alcock did the homework (including Kryptonian)
Speaking to Cinemark, Alcock explained she had only a few weeks to learn Kryptonian, so she went full crash course: audio recordings, phonetic spellings, and written pages. Instead of memorizing word by word, she looped the lines until the rhythm stuck — more like learning a song in another language than cramming vocabulary. She also talked about how she needed to approach Kara to make the heroics feel earned:
"I needed to play her in this really weird and wonderful way to believe that I could be the hero in my own story, that I could be capable."
The takeaway
'Supergirl' may still find its audience at the box office, but the early critical read puts extra pressure on Gunn's long-term DCU rollout. The silver lining: even the harsher reviews are pretty warm on Alcock, which is the most important piece if Kara is going to be a pillar character going forward.