“Of course I have! Of course, are you kidding?” is how Sasha Calle reacted when Polygon asked whether the Flash actor had read Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
Calle’s performance as Kara Zor-El, the alien known as Supergirl, is a highlight of The Flash. The 27-year-old relative newcomer brings Supergirl to the big screen for the first time since Helen Slater in Warner Bros.’ 1984 stand-alone — emphasis on bringing it. And as we know from James Gunn’s major DC Films slate announcement at the top of the year, it won’t be the last time we see a Supergirl on screen. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a comic series, written by Tom King and drawn by Bilquis Evely, and it’s the source material for a currently in-development Warner Bros. blockbuster.
“Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a very, very cool comic book,” Calle gushed. “From the moment it begins — I’m such a fan.”
Calle compared the rageful but compassionate Supergirl of The Flash to the beginning of Woman of Tomorrow, which opens with Supergirl renting a spaceship to fly out to a planet so far away from any yellow sun that her superpowers begin to fade. Why? Because it’s her 21st birthday, and instead of spending it with friends or family, she wants to go to an alien bar to get drunk completely alone.
“She’s kind of jaded, kind of sad, trying to process grief. And I really love that, man, because I think Supergirl is a complex superhero, who also feels everything 10 times deeper. Her joy, her sadness, her grief. She’s just trying to process, like all of us.”
Calle doesn’t know if her role in The Flash automatically ushers her into a role in Woman of Tomorrow, but she’d be over the moon if it did. And her emphatic enthusiasm, even at the distance of video chat during a packed day of interviews, made it clear that it wouldn’t just be the excitement of any old job.
“If you’re a nerd like me, you know that [Supergirl] is multiple things. She’s joy, she’s love, she’s kindness,” Calle said. “I am deeply in love with Supergirl. I love her so much. I have the most respect for her and I feel very close to her. I say that it was written in the stars for me to play this character. And I hope to be playing her. I hope to be experiencing more of her.”
The Flash hits theaters this Friday. Warner Bros. has not announced a release date for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow the movie, but you can grab the original book, which Polygon called one of the best comics of 2022, at your local comic shop or digital comics retailer.
