The frigid box office response to Supergirl is certainly not what DC Studios co-chair's Peter Safran and James Gunn would have liked to see for the second DCU theatrical feature.
However, Safran is touting an overall master plan for the DCU that stretches a decade and that one setback is not a reason to scrap all of their plans.
"Obviously, as you've seen in these last weekends, not everything is going to work, but we don't judge the success of our 10-year plan based on any individual project along the way," he told Entertainment Weekly.
It's an echo of Safran's previous statement in the immediate aftermath of Supergirl's release, when it became clear that the marketing and concept failed to strike a chord with moviegoers. At the time, Safran remarked, "While Supergirl didn’t meet our box office expectations, it’s just one component of a broader, long-term strategy at DC Studios that we remain confident in."
Was Mily Alcock the wrong choice for the role? Gunn previously touted his decision, stating that Alcock, "might be the best bit of casting I've done in my entire life."
He also previously stated, "Milly's got a big role in that one [Man of Tomorrow]... She's done her wild ways, and now she's going to try to get back in with her cousin and be more on Earth again. That's where she is, in 'Man of Tomorrow."
Gunn thought it was such slam dunk that he gave the House of the Dragon star a major role in the currently filming, Man of Tomorrow. With the Superman sequel deep into production, it's likely too late to significantly alter Supergirl's presence without incurring the price of costly reshoots.
And while Supergirl may go down as a financial failure for DC Studios and a give Kara the stigma of a failed character to decision-making studio execs, most reviews say Alcock's performance was one of the pics' few strongpoints. Keep in mind, Chris Evans as Captain America and Chris Hemsworth as Thor didn't exactly set the box office on fire in their solo film debuts and look where they are now.
Unlike Marvel Studios, DC Studios is not holding a main-stage film presentation in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con this year. Instead, the focus is on the HBO Max series Lanterns, and unless Gunn takes a break from Man of Tomorrow filming for a surprise appearance, don't expect any major DCU announcements this weekend.