Supergirl has landed, and it's more personal (and a whole lot more dangerous)

The new Supergirl trailer dropped today, and it wastes no time making one thing clear: this isn’t the bright, bubbly version of Kara Zor-El people might remember from previous media. From the opening shot, the tone is sharper, heavier, and far more personal. Kara (Milly Alcock) is someone who has seen too much and learned that power doesn’t shield you from loss. This gives the teaser trailer an emotional weight that immediately sets it apart from a typical superhero preview.

The footage leans hard into that tension between who Kara is and who the world expects her to be. There are quick glimpses of destruction, close-quarters fights, and brief flashes of vulnerability (in-between those crazy benders) that suggest a hero pulled in several directions at once. Nothing feels clean or easy. Even the quieter moments carry a sense of unease, like she’s bracing for another hit before she even gets back off the ground.

Visually, the trailer looks strong. The action sequences are tight and focused, relying more on physicality than CG overload like Superman had. Kara’s powers still look impressive, but they’re framed with restraint, making the more explosive moments feel properly earned. Just her heat vision, in and of itself, is a sight to behold in this trailer.

What stands out is how character-driven it all feels. Instead of drowning in spectacle, the trailer keeps pulling the camera back to Kara’s reactions, her exhaustion, and the hard decisions weighing on her. It feels like the creative team finally committed to exploring what it actually costs to be Supergirl in a world that never stops needing saving.

If the theatrical version can deliver on the promise of this teaser, fans may receive the most focused and emotionally grounded version of Supergirl to date. It has grit, purpose, and it looks ready to push the character into darker, more complex territory without losing the heart that defines her. Giving viewers a nod to the Woman of Tomorrow comic at the end of the teaser, as the basis for this film adaptation, is an awesome tactic that can inspire newer generations to dabble in reading the comics, too.

I love a well-rounded, developed hero with flaws, and I look forward to seeing James Gunn take our beloved Kara Zor-El to new heights!

Supergirl releases on June 26, 2026 in theaters everywhere.