Milly Alcock’s Supergirl will continue to butt heads with her cousin, Superman, in next year’s DC Universe sequel, Man of Tomorrow, James Gunn has teased.

Supergirl’s appearance in Man of Tomorrow was already confirmed, but speaking to extratv at the premiere of the Supergirl movie, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn said her relationship with Superman will be explored further in the 2027 film.

“I've liked a lot of the iterations of Supergirl. Helen Slater was great, all of them really have been great versions. But I do think that this Supergirl is apart because she's not so much like Superman,” Gunn explained.

“She's very, very different from her cousin, which puts them at odds, which is a big part of this movie [Supergirl]. And then an even bigger part of Man of Tomorrow, which we're filming now.”

Gunn was asked about Supergirl’s involvement with Man of Tomorrow, and while he kept his cards close to his chest, he did suggest fans will see her show up in a significant way that goes beyond a cameo.

“Milly’s got a big role in that one [Man of Tomorrow]. I feel sorry for her because she's flying around the world, coming to set, shooting with me, coming back, having to do more press, flying back. So, it's hard. It's hard. But she’s a trooper,” he said.

Supergirl appeared in cameo form at the end of last year’s Superman, drunk and dishevelled in front of a disapproving Kal-El. Her mental issues due to her tough upbringing are at the heart of the Supergirl film, where she struggles to accept hero status quite so readily as her cousin.

Supergirl takes place after the events of Superman and sees her encounter other galactic characters like Lobo, played by Jason Momoa. As for Man of Tomorrow, all we really know about the movie is that Superman and supervillain Lex Luthor have to work together somewhat to combat the threat of Brainiac. But we can also expect to see the main cast from Superman return. With Supergirl’s involvement, could we see the Justice League finally take shape?

Last month, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran said Supergirl is "a major part of what we’re doing," so perhaps we’ll see the character appear in many more DCU movies to come. “I think they're just going to be really surprised,” Gunn said this week of what he expects fans to take away from Man of Tomorrow.

Elsewhere in the DCU, we have confirmed release dates for HBO show Lanterns, the Clayface movie, and the aforementioned Man of Tomorrow. The Jimmy Olsen / Gorilla Grodd HBO show starts filming this year.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.