Matthias Schoenaerts to Play the Villain in ‘Supergirl’

(Left) Matthias Schoenaerts in ‘The Regime.’ Photograph by Miya Mizuno/HBO. (Right) DC Comics’ Supergirl from writer Tom King’s ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.’ Photo courtesy of DC.com.

Preview:

Matthias Schoenaerts is joining Supergirl.
He’ll play the villain opposite Milly Alcock’s conflicted title character.
‘Cruella’s Craig Gillespie is in the director’s chair.

While we’ve known for a while that ‘House of the Dragon’ actor Milly Alcock has snagged the role of Kara Zor-El, AKA Supergirl in ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,’ other news has been slower to arrive.

That changes today, as Deadline reports that Matthias Schoenaerts has scored the role of the villain in the new movie.

Not Yet RatedJun 26th, 2026

While Superman was sent to Earth and raised by incredibly loving parents, Kara was left on Krypton. For the first fourteen years of her life, Kara lived alone on… Read the Plot

What is the plan for the ‘Supergirl’ movie?

(Left) Milly Alcock in ‘House of the Dragon.’ Photo: Ollie Upton / HBO. (Right) DC Comics’ Supergirl from writer Tom King’s ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.’ Photo courtesy of DC.com.

Alcock will reportedly first show up in another DC movie (the main speculation has been on James Gunn’s ‘Superman’, though the director has shot that down online, even if it seems unlikely there will be another release from Warner Bros./DC between ‘Superman’ and ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.’)

She’ll then appear in her own movie, which was announced alongside the rest of Gunn and Safran’s plan for the first wave of their new movie/TV universe.

‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’ will be a big-scale sci-fi film based on Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s comic run. It features a “darker, harsher” version of Kara Zor-El raised on a surviving chunk of Krypton who sees everyone around her die.

This is what Gunn said at the time of the announcement:

“This is a very different type of Supergirl. In our film, we see the difference between Superman, who was sent to Earth and raised by loving parents from, you know, the time he’s an infant, versus Supergirl, who was raised on a rock chip-off of Krypton and watched everyone around her die and be killed in terrible ways for the first 14 years of her life, and then came to Earth when she was a young girl and is much more hardcore. She’s not exactly the Supergirl we’re used to seeing.”

Who will Schoenaerts play in ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’?

Matthias Schoenaerts in ‘The Regime.’ Photograph by Miya Mizuno/HBO.

Assuming the movie maintains the comic’s storyline, Schoenaerts will be playing Krem of the Yellow Hill, who kills a young alien girl’s father. She then draws Supergirl into the conflict.

And, more controversially, he also kills Supergirl’s dog, leading her to go all ‘John Wick.’

While the actor is more known for his indie movie and European work (including the likes of ‘Rust and Bone,’ ‘The Danish Girl’ and Luca Guadagnino’s ‘A Bigger Splash’), Schoenaerts is not a stranger to comic book-based movies, having appeared in Netflix’s ‘The Old Guard’ (he’s back for the sequel, which is still awaiting a release slot.)

Who is making ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’?

Director Craig Gillespie on the set of 'Dumb Money.' Photo: Claire Folger. © 2023 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Craig Gillespie is making the new movie. Gillespie brings a lot of experience to the table –– he’s directed several movies with female characters at their heart (including ‘I, Tonya’ and ‘Cruella’), and is also adept at balancing tone.

The cameras will be rolling this coming January in the UK.

Ana Nogueira has been adapting the comic book with some input from Tom King. DC Studios bosses Gunn and Peter Safran are producing, and DC executive vice president Chantal Nong is an executive producer.