DCU’s ‘Supergirl’ Gets Official Age Rating — What It Means for the Upcoming Film

Age ratings have become a big deal for superhero movies in recent years. These films are no longer just simple comic book adventures for kids.

Studios now include darker themes, stronger language, and more intense action, which means ratings like PG-13 or R can tell audiences a lot about what kind of story they are getting.

The upcoming DC Universe film Supergirl has officially been given a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association. The rating is for strong violence, action, language, and smoking. This gives fans a clearer idea of the tone the movie will have before its release.

Supergirl is a film based on the DC Comics character Kara Zor-El. It is directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira. The film is part of the new DC Universe lineup and is planned as the second major film in the franchise. It is produced by James Gunn and Peter Safran under DC Studios.

The movie stars Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El, also known as Supergirl. The cast also includes Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet, and Jason Momoa. The film also features Krypto, Supergirl’s super-powered dog, who first appears in the DCU film Superman (2025).

According to the official premise, the story follows Kara Zor-El as she travels across space on her 23rd birthday. She is not just exploring the galaxy for fun. During her journey, she meets a young girl named Ruthye Marye Knoll, and after a tragic event, she is pushed into a violent path of revenge. The story is described as a “murderous quest for revenge,” which already suggests why the PG-13 rating includes strong action and violence.

Milly Alcock’s version of Supergirl is described as different from Superman. Kara did not grow up on Earth. Instead, she survived the destruction of Krypton and witnessed the loss of her world and people. This has made her more hardened and emotionally complex. James Gunn has described her as a more edgy and “attitudinal” character compared to her cousin Clark Kent.

The rating also mentions smoking, which fits with earlier descriptions of Kara’s behavior in the story. In this version of the character, she is shown as someone who travels across planets and sometimes engages in reckless or self-destructive habits. This adds to the more mature tone of the film compared to some earlier DC superhero stories.

Jason Momoa plays Lobo, a violent alien bounty hunter. His inclusion also adds to the film’s intense action focus. Other key characters include Ruthye Marye Knoll, played by Eve Ridley, who becomes involved in Supergirl’s revenge journey, and Krem of the Yellow Hills, played by Matthias Schoenaerts, who serves as the main antagonist. The story also connects to Krypton through Supergirl’s parents, played by David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham.

The film is based on the comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which was released between 2021 and 2022. That comic already had a darker and more emotional tone, focusing on grief, revenge, and survival in space. The movie adaptation continues that direction, which helps explain the PG-13 rating instead of a lower family-friendly rating.

The development of Supergirl has gone through several changes over the years. Earlier versions were planned as part of the DC Extended Universe, but the project was later reworked when James Gunn and Peter Safran took control of DC Studios. They reshaped the DC Universe into a new connected storyline, and Supergirl became part of this new direction.

Milly Alcock was later cast as Kara Zor-El, and she is also expected to appear in the DCU’s Superman (2025) before leading her own film. Filming for Supergirl took place in 2025 across locations in England and Scotland, including Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.

The movie is currently scheduled for release on June 26, 2026, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It will be part of DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, marking an important step in the rebooted universe.

With its PG-13 rating, Supergirl is expected to include intense action scenes, emotional storytelling, and darker themes than typical superhero films, while still staying accessible to a wide audience.

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