Milly Alcock’s emotional Supergirl comments have resurfaced after the film’s box office flop

Things haven’t exactly got off to a flying start for Supergirl. The new DC film has fallen well short of expectations at the box office, despite arriving with loads of hype after the success of James Gunn’s Superman last year.

Starring House of the Dragon breakout Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, Supergirl brought in $38 million (£28 million) domestically. Considering the film reportedly cost around $170 million to make before marketing costs, it’s now facing a tough battle to make its money back.

The disappointing debut feels even more heartbreaking when you look back at what Milly Alcock said before the film was released. Speaking to Variety, the 26-year-old admitted the pressure of taking on such an iconic superhero role left her feeling terrified, even before she’d landed the part.

“It’s the stakes, you know?” she said.

Once she’d actually been cast, the reality of leading a huge blockbuster quickly hit home.

“I was like, ‘I have to do all that?! No!’ Because she’s in, like, every scene.”

She even revealed she briefly considered saying no before talking herself into accepting the role.

“I looked at myself in the mirror, and I was like, ‘Who am I to turn down this opportunity?'” she explained, adding: “I knew that it was what I needed to do, because it scared me. And I thought, ‘Well, I get one big, bad, beautiful life. Why not f*cking go for it?'”

Although she embraced the challenge, Milly has been open about how difficult life can become after joining a massive franchise.

Following her breakout role in House of the Dragon, she spoke about becoming the target of online abuse and how reading negative comments could sometimes feed into her own self-doubt.

“Because sometimes people reinforce beliefs that you have about yourself, and you’re like, ‘Now someone’s said it! It’s true!’ And you’ve got to remind yourself that it’s not,” she said.

She also explained that making Supergirl ended up changing her in ways she never expected.

“What Kara was going through that I was going through is she’s someone who has been at war with themselves. And I think that’s a very universal feeling, especially for women.

“So it’s been a really surprising journey. I never thought taking on a superhero film would do that. But it has! And what a beautiful thing.”

Those comments feel even more poignant after the film’s release, with Alcock becoming the focus of misogynistic abuse online and some fans attempting to pin the film’s disappointing box office performance on her.

Speaking to Vanity Fair before the movie came out, she reflected on the way women are treated once they step into huge franchises.

“It definitely made me aware that simply existing as a woman in that space is something that people comment on,” she said. “We have become very comfortable having this weird ownership of women’s bodies. I can’t really stop them. I can only be myself.”

She later told Variety that people reacted angrily even when she deliberately avoided singling anyone out.

“I didn’t even say ‘men’, I said ‘people!'” she said. “And they got so angry. I was like, ‘You’re proving my point. You’re proving my point!'”

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Featured image credit: Warner Bros