Milly Alcock IS Supergirl/Kara Zor-El

[flickchick85]

I don't know the source material. But I take it that a "petite" actress is require for the role?

There's no size requirement inherent in the story. She's a 21-year-old girl.

 

[Invader Joker]

I don't know the source material. But I take it that a "petite" actress is required for the role?

Not really but most likely Gunn doesn't give a **** and probably likes the contrast of a super tall Superman with a short Supergirl.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I mean they're gonna cast a waifish tiny blonde white woman so "petite" probably is a requirement. Shouldn't be, but probably is. I say this as someone whose choice for the role is the tiny Milly Alcock.

Also: I ****ing knew that post-Latina Supergirl the shortlist for this role would be as obnoxiously white as the rest of the DCU is so far.

 

[Invader Joker]

Just read Woman of Tomorrow and yeah I have a hard time picturing Milly Alcock as this Kara. Before reading the book (and watching several scenes of her on youtube, both of her HoTD role and Upright) I thought she'd be fine but now I have a reaaaaally hard time picturing her as the menthor-type, wise beyond her years yet still fun figure Kara is in that book.

Maybe there's something I'm missing but I don't know, it's a strange visual for a lot of her scenes. Emilia feels like she'd fit a lot more naturally for a lot of the dialogue, especially her explosive scene at the end.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Just read Woman of Tomorrow and yeah I have a hard time picturing Milly Alcock as this Kara. Before reading the book (and watching several scenes of her on youtube, both of her HoTD role and Upright) I thought she'd be fine but now I have a reaaaaally hard time picturing her as the menthor-type, wise beyond her years yet still fun figure Kara is in that book.

Maybe there's something I'm missing but I don't know, it's a strange visual for a lot of her scenes. Emilia feels like she'd fit a lot more naturally for a lot of the dialogue, especially her explosive scene at the end.

I mean, she's a very good actress. Presumably she is capable of exhibiting traits she has not yet exhibited in her very brief film career. All that stuff is also clearly within her range already anyhow, even just watching interviews with her it's incredibly easy for me to picture her playing scenes from Woman of Tomorrow.

 

[Invader Joker]

I mean, she's a very good actress. Presumably she is capable of exhibiting traits she has not yet exhibited in her very brief film career. All that stuff is also clearly within her range already anyhow, even just watching interviews with her it's incredibly easy for me to picture her playing scenes from Woman of Tomorrow.

I do concede that she's good and that anything can happen in an audition, but I don't know, I can also see a way in which she can very very easily lose the gig 'cuz it's an extremely specific vibe that I'm not sure she has. I don't think she's as much of a given as everyone's assuming she is.

By the same token I also feel that Meg is being /kinda/ understimated. Ultimately I don't think she's the best fit purely because she doesn't really fit the more hardened and dramatic aspect of Kara's personality, but I don't know. I feel she's being written off because of being a Disney Channel and CW actress which I don't think is really fair considering that at that age it's not like there are /that/ many opportunities to make a mark yet and she does have a natural charisma that can work for the character, in fact I thought her VO work was actually quite good.



I think it's a way tighter race than it'd seem if you were purely looking at their filmographies.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I do concede that she's good and that anything can happen in an audition, but I don't know, I can also see a way in which she can very very easily lose the gig 'cuz it's an extremely specific vibe that I'm not sure she has. I don't think she's as much of a given as everyone's assuming she is.

By the same token I also feel that Meg is being /kinda/ understimated. Ultimately I don't think she's the best fit purely because she doesn't really fit the more hardened and dramatic aspect of Kara's personality, but I don't know. I feel she's being written off because of being a Disney Channel and CW actress which I don't think is really fair considering that at that age it's not like they're /that/ many opportunities to make a mark yet and she does have a natural charisma that can work for the character, in fact I thought her VO work was actually quite good.



I think it's a way tighter race than it'd seem if you were purely looking at their filmographies.

They'd all be fine. Milly just has the most interesting screen presence, IMO. I think the whole idea of going for specific "vibes" an actor inherently has in casting is largely silly. They're actors, vibes are almost universally 110% fakeable.

For sure her being written off for being a Disney channel actress is silly. A good chunk of any generation of great performers get their start doing that type of work.

 

[flickchick85]

I don't know, I've at least seen all them in action in one or two roles, and Milly is the CLEAR choice from this group imo.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I don't know, I've at least seen all them in action in one or two roles, and Milly is the CLEAR choice from this group imo.

Yeah, they're all good actresses but Milly is transparently the strongest performer.

 

[Invader Joker]

They'd all be fine. Millie just has the most interesting screen presence, IMO. I think the whole idea of going for specific "vibes" an actor inherently has in casting is largely silly. They're actors, vibes are almost universally 110% fakeable.

I disagree wholeheartedly on that lol Some actors have that range, but a lot of them don't. And I do think that for things as specific as a menthor-type and wise figure like the Kara from the book you do need something very very specific that again, I'm not sure Milly has based on her previous work.

I say all of this perfectly conceding the fact that she barely has any previous work and could easily have a lot more tricks up her sleeve than she's shown.

Spoiler

Like I have a hard time imagining her in this scene.

Or this:

Spoiler

And it's not like some small superficial "need comic accuracy" detail, scenes like this are vital to the entire character of Kara in this book.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I disagree wholeheartedly on that lol Some actors have that range, but a lot of them don't. And I do think that for things as specific as a menthor-type and wise figure like the Kara from the book you do need something very very specific that again, I'm not sure Milly has based on her previous work.

I say all of this perfectly conceding the fact that she barely has any previous work and could easily have a lot more tricks up her sleeve than she's shown.

Spoiler

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View attachment 77280

Like I have a hard time imagining her in this scene.

Or this:

Spoiler

View attachment 77281

And it's not like some small superficial "need comic accuracy" detail, scenes like this are vital to the entire character of Kara in this book.

I can easily imagine her doing both of these scenes. Her or any other competent actress for that matter. Neither is some massively challenging, demanding scene to play. They're just normal dramatic scenes.

Woman has been in the ****ing Crucible. She's a legit actress. She can stand there looking serious and give a dramatic superhero speech.

 

[Invader Joker]

I can easily imagine her doing both of these scenes. Her or any other competent actress for that matter. Neither is some massively challenging, demanding scene to play. They're just normal dramatic scenes.

I am not saying they're hard to do on a technical level, but that to believably pull them off and make them believable you need a very very specific type of presence, one's that's so entirely different from the one she has as Rhaenyra and other roles of hers to the extent that I do have to question whether she has it.

Like, sure, Jake Gyllenhaal can probably pull the scene where Christopher Reeve saves a cat out of a tree on a technical level since it's nothing wild, but just because he can doesn't mean he'd be believable as Superman in the same way.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I am not saying they're hard to do on a technical level, but that to believably pull them off and make them believable you need a very very specific type of presence, one's that's so entirely different from the one she has as Rhaenyra and other roles of hers to the extent that I do have to question whether she has it.

Like, sure, Jake Gyllenhaal can probably pull the scene where Christopher Reeve saves a cat out of a tree on a technical level since it's nothing wild, but just because he can doesn't mean he'd be believable as Superman in the same way.

You and I have clearly fundamentally different perceptions of acting. I just find this whole notion of "specific type of presence" a person needs to naturally have so silly and kind of degrading to the craft itself. Why would you expect an actress to have shown qualities a role hasn't asked of her yet? What's important is that she has excelled in the roles she has done.

I don't even think she hasn't shown those qualities. It's incredibly easy for me to picture her being a sweet, gentle big sister like in the second page and frankly that kind of grandstanding dramatic superhero speech in the first example is maybe the easiest thing you could ask an actor to do.

 

[Invader Joker]

You and I have clearly fundamentally different perceptions of acting. I just find this whole notion of "specific type of presence" a person needs to naturally have so silly and kind of degrading to the craft itself. Why would you expect an actress to have shown qualities a role hasn't asked of her yet? What's important is that she has excelled in the roles she has done.

I mean, it's absolutely true tho. There are certain roles that just ask for certain characteristics that are very hard to emulate and that come more naturally to certain actors than others. And again, I do agree that Milly has a very limited body of work (because of her age) so we don't truly know the extent of her range, it's just that we can only judge based on past work and based on past work there's nothing that really screams the Kara Zor-El of this book to me.

 

[flickchick85]

I disagree wholeheartedly on that lol Some actors have that range, but a lot of them don't. And I do think that for things as specific as a menthor-type and wise figure like the Kara from the book you do need something very very specific that again, I'm not sure Milly has based on her previous work.

I say all of this perfectly conceding the fact that she barely has any previous work and could easily have a lot more tricks up her sleeve than she's shown.

Spoiler

View attachment 77279
View attachment 77280

Like I have a hard time imagining her in this scene.

Or this:

Spoiler

View attachment 77281

And it's not like some small superficial "need comic accuracy" detail, scenes like this are vital to the entire character of Kara in this book.

Then you are not exercising much imagination because I can see it EASILY.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I mean, it's absolutely true tho. There are certain roles that just ask for certain characteristics that are very hard to emulate and that come more naturally to certain actors than others. And again, I do agree that Milly has a very limited body of work (because of his age) so we don't truly know the extent of her range, it's just that we can only judge based on past work and based on past work there's nothing that really screams the Kara Zor-El of this book to me.

It really barely is. The vibes and "specific qualities" people see in actors on screen are generally entirely fake and feel convincing/natural because they're conjured by a skilled performer whose job it is to fake it. Good actors can convincingly fake a whole plethora of characteristics. Most actors are doofy ****ing theatre kids who got lucky and whose on screen presence is about as divorced from that as is humanly possible, nothing "natural" about it.

To the limited extent it is true this really isn't an example of, I love Woman of Tomorrow very much. It's one of the only parts of the DCU I'm remotely interested in because I love that book so much. However, it is not some massively complex Shakespearean role. It's a great role, but I can think of very few good actresses who wouldn't be able to easily and naturally pull off those two scenes you posted as examples.

 

[Invader Joker]

It really barely is. The vibes and "specific qualities" people see in actors on screen are generally entirely fake and feel convincing/natural because they're conjured by a skilled performer whose job it is to fake it. Good actors can convincingly fake a whole plethora of characteristics. Most actors are doofy ****ing theatre kids who got lucky and whose on screen presence is about as divorced from that as is humanly possible, nothing "natural" about it.

I think you are 100% wrong on that lol For every Robert Pattinson that can play a variety of different roles and personas very different from their own, there are always Chris Pratt's, RDJ, Michael Cera's, etc that have one very specific shtick they're good at and where that's the shtick they play while ocassionally playing against type. And I actually think that is absolutely valid type of acting. Hell, there's Christopher Reeve, who part of the reason he worked so well as Superman is because his actual off-screen personality wasn't that dissimilar to the character and even on interviews he still felt like Superman.

To the limited extent it is true this really isn't an example of, I love Woman of Tomorrow very much. It's one of the only parts of the DCU I'm remotely interested in because I love that book so much. However, it is not some massively complex Shakespearean role. It's a great role, but I can think of very few good actresses who wouldn't be able to easily and naturally pull off those two scenes you posted as examples.

I ain't saying it's Shakespearean, what I am saying is that I can't really picture Milly Alcock as a menthor-type figure based on her previous roles. That's all there is to it.

 

[Dr.]

Not really but most likely Gunn doesn't give a **** and probably likes the contrast of a super tall Superman with a short Supergirl.

Curious. Prior, I noticed that many “fan casts” were for diminutive actresses — almost everyone below average height. And now these official contenders are, likewise, petite. So I figured there was maybe some “story reason” for the similarity in body type. E.g., perhaps this is an adolescent version of Kara…?

But apparently not.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Curious. Prior, I noticed that many “fan casts” were for diminutive actresses — almost everyone below average height. And now these official contenders are, likewise, petite. So I figured there was maybe some “story reason” for the similarity in body type. E.g., perhaps this is an adolescent version of Kara…?

But apparently not.

Almost like there’s an ultra specific body type the film industry is almost exclusively interested in.

 

[Invader Joker]

Also, in case that Deadline missed some names or more join the mix: I wouldn't be surprised if Kiernan Shipka and Cailee Spaeny both join as contenders as well. They both seem the type they're looking at. (Attractive young short white girls that already have some sort of a career behind them despite their short ages)

 

[Invader Joker]

Deadline also mentioned there was a possibility of just sending an offer to a "movie star". I don't know if she counts as that, but Elle Fanning is probably the biggest name I can think of that makes sense for this role and that'd be big enough to just be sent a straight offer.

 

[Alien Anal]

I ain't saying it's Shakespearean, what I am saying is that I can't really picture Milly Alcock as a menthor-type figure based on her previous roles. That's all there is to it.

Is menthor a word or are you being autocorrected?

Also please no to Kiernan, have watched a few films with her she is really distracting with her Botox lips and eye brows wriggling everywhere.

 

[Dr.]

Almost like there’s an ultra specific body type the film industry is almost exclusively interested in.

Well, it’s not just the “industry.” Even around these threads, the focus seemed to be on a particular type: white and petite. In terms of ethnicity… Notwithstanding a lily-white Kal-El, there is an obvious scenario by which his cousin could be a person of color. But I haven’t seen much fan casting along those lines.

 

[DCDAVE]

I mean they're gonna cast a waifish tiny blonde white woman so "petite" probably is a requirement. Shouldn't be, but probably is. I say this as someone whose choice for the role is the tiny Milly Alcock.

Also: I ****ing knew that post-Latina Supergirl the shortlist for this role would be as obnoxiously white as the rest of the DCU is so far.

I think Gunn has hired minority actors without having to deal with the negativity of social media. Gunn seems to really like Mr. Terrific and I bet he has a sizable role in Legacy. The Engineer certainly will be part of the Authority in future movies. Like it or not we will be getting the classic DC superheroes from Gunn. Not just the looks but the personalities. Superman and Batman won’t be fighting to the death.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I think Gunn has hired minority actors without having to deal with the negativity of social media. Gunn seems to really like Mr. Terrific and I bet he has a sizable role in Legacy. The Engineer certainly will be part of the Authority in future movies. Like it or not we will be getting the classic DC superheroes from Gunn. Not just the looks but the personalities. Superman and Batman won’t be fighting to the death.

That's all well and good. Love Mr. Terrific too, clearly characters who were designed as people of colour should also get their day in the spotlight. However: the DCU cast is obviously abnormally lacking in diversity compared to other big properties at this point. Maybe that'll change, still super early days, but it reads as an intentional choice to avoid Internet Grumbling. I'm not asking for every role to be race bent, just that if you follow the makeup of the "classic DC superheroes" exactly you're going to be drastically limiting your talent pool and ending up with a mostly white JL. Feels weird at this point in culture, like the public perception of Aquaman is so linked to Jason Momoa at this point that it's going to feel gross when he's replaced by a blonde haired straight off the page white guy.

I don't need every role changed for the sake of diversity. I simply think it reads as intentional and therefore uncomfortable if there is clearly zero openness to looking at more diverse actors for some of these roles. Like, The Batman isn't showy in its diversity (not asking any of these to be showy about it) but if they had cast white actors as Gordon and Selina it would have felt very noticeable.