Supergirl is already confirmed to feature a major reference to the original movie Superman and his iconic on-screen costume, which is a perfect nod for the DCU to make. As a film that appears to draw closely from the comics – most obviously in its story being a rendition of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow – the DCU’s Supergirl movie is an exciting further look at how the franchise intends to balance adapting its source material and being a fresh and fruitful take on everything that came before.
Some of how the upcoming DCU movie intends to do so has become clear thanks to Supergirl‘s trailers and the pre-release reveals about the movie – such as it being confirmed that Jason Momoa’s Lobo will be making a key appearance in the film, and striking an alliance of sorts with Kara due to the pair being after the same space bandits.
The behind the scenes reveals about Supergirl‘s costumes have also confirmed another, perhaps even more major way in which the DCU will nod to the wider DC lore while paving its own path forward, as one of the suits in the movie draws from the original movie Superman look in a very literal – and very exciting – sense.
Supergirl’s Solo Movie Design Includes An Exciting Reference To Christopher Reeve’s Superman
In an interview with Raiders of the Lost Podcast, Milly Alcock referenced how Kara’s suit in Supergirl has a heartwarming hidden detail included within it, revealing that her cape “was remade using materials from the original Superman cape” thanks to the small amount of remaining spare material that had been found.
This helps partially explain why Supergirl’s suit in the movie looks as iconic as it does, but perhaps more importantly goes to reiterate the franchise’s efforts to tie DC’s legacy and past into its future, since going to the effort of constructing the cape out of this fabric no doubt involved going to further lengths effort-wise than simply making a new cape out of new material in the first place.
Given how this aligns with the DCU’s other reference to Christopher Reeve’s Superman, it does appear that the franchise is putting itself in a position wherein it’s able to embrace all the best parts of the DC movies that came before it, while still being able to fully become its own separate entity with its own distinct artistic vision at the same time.
The DCU’s Nods To The DC Movies That Came Before Are Promising For The Franchise’s Future
Notably, the Supergirl cape is not the first time the DC Universe has explicitly referenced the classic film era for Superman in its newer movies, nor is it the first time it’s done so in a way that intentionally lionizes and celebrates this period of movie history and holds it up as a symbol of the decades-long legacy of both Superman and DC more broadly speaking.
Indeed, the DC Universe’s first movie celebrated Christopher Reeve’s Superman in a similar fashion, with the actor’s son, Will Reeve, making an appearance in 2025’s Superman itself. This was not only a fitting reference since Will played an in-universe TV reporter – matching his own real-life career as a national correspondent – but also served as a clear way to show how the original movie Superman actor’s role continues to live on, and is still an important part of DC’s film world to this day.
As such, Supergirl continuing this approach is both all the more important and all the more pleasing to see, especially as it emphasizes the franchise isn’t intending to be a total clean slate altogether, but rather a fresh start for DC overall that is able to embody and fully embrace the best parts of the franchise’s extensive history.
