TVLine have gotten ahold of some of the casting details from CBS’ Supergirl TV show, which is being put together by Arrow executive producer Greg Berlanti, and there’s a few changes to the classic comic-book origin story – one of which looks like a shot across the bow of Marvel.
For Kara Zor-El aka Kara Danvers, the show is eyeing Caucasian females, age 22 to 26, to play 24. As the series’ mythology goes, Kara at age 12 was sent from her dying home planet of Krypton to Earth, where she was taken in by the Danvers, a foster family who taught her to be careful with her extraordinary powers. After repressing said skills for more than a decade, Kara is forced to bust out her super moves in public during an unexpected disaster. Energized by her heroism for the first time in her life, she begins embracing her abilities in the name of helping the people of her city, earning herself a super moniker along the way.
Oh, hang on, so DC’s alien-powered blonde powerhouse is now called Kara Danvers, while Marvel’s alien-powered blonde powerhouse Captain Marvel – slated for a movie in 2018 – is called… Carole Danvers.
Soon after Supergirl’s comic-book debut, her Earth name was Linda Lee and then Linda lEE Danvers and her Kryptonian name was Kara Zor-El, so it’s a perfectly plausible portmanteau of the two (and more sensible too, it’ll reduce slip ups) but there’s probably some pursed lips over at Marvel Studios this morning.
Supergirl will also introduced an all-new supporting character in the form of Kara’s human foster sister:
The other lead role currently being cast is that of 26-year-old Alexandra “Alex” Danvers, Kara’s gorgeous, brilliant, science-minded foster sister. Growing up, Alex was partly jealous of her sibling yet also fascinated by her abilities, prompting Alex to learn as much as she could about alien anthropology, sociology and culture. Today, Alex works for a secret government organization and, alongside her heroic sis, will face many challenges, both mundane and super.
Ohhh, could the secret government organisation possibly be Suicide Squad-founders ARGUS, thus tying in Supergirl closely to Arrow across the network divide?
Arrow Season 3 is airing now on The CW and Sky 1 and Sky 1 HD in the UK. You can buy Arrow Season 1 on Blu-ray for £11.25 at Amazon.co.uk. Find out more about the comics that inspired the show with new digital magazine Uncanny Comics.
