The DC Extended Universe just got its own Supergirl.
Deadline has word that the upcoming DC Extended Universe film The Flash, starring Ezra Miller as The Flash/Barry Allen, has cast Latina actress Sasha Calle as Superman's cousin, Supergirl/Kara Zor-El.
According to the article, Calle was chosen from more than 425 actresses who auditioned. The actresses weren’t informed what part they were reading for, until very late in the process. Calle also did a chemistry read with Miller.
The Flash director Andy Muschietti watched all the auditions and reportedly "was blown away by the actress’ toughness and vulnerability that she brought to the role." "I saw more than four hundred auditions," remarked Muschietti. "The talent pool was truly amazing and it was very hard to make a decision, but we finally found an actress who was destined to play this role."
Calle, 25, is best known as Lola Rosales on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, where she was nominated last year in the Outstanding Young Performer in a Drama series category at the Daytime Emmys. She has also appeared in the short films The White Shoes and Final Stop.
Created in 1959 by Otto Binder, Al Plastino and Curt Swan, Supergirl first appeared in Action Comics (vol.1) #252 as Kara Zor-El, the daughter of Jor-El's brother Zor-El and cousin to Superman. She was the last survivor of Argo City, which had survived the destruction of the planet Krypton until meteorites of Green Kryptonite penetrated Argo City's protective barrier. Sent to Earth by Zor-El to be raised by her cousin, Kara acquired powers similar to Superman and adopted the secret identity of Linda Lee, a young girl at Midvale Orphanage.
In the New 52 continuity, Kara's ship lands as part of a meteor shower in Smallville, Kansas, but burrows through the Earth and emerges in Siberia. Kara has no memory of the destruction of Krypton and believes herself to be dreaming. The military tracks her arrival, and a group of American soldiers in mechanized suits immediately attack her. Her powers start emerging as the fight goes on and terrify the surprised Kara. Superman arrives after she defeats the soldiers and tries to convince Kara that he is her cousin, but Kara, still believing that only three days have passed since she last saw baby Kal, accuses him of being an imposter and attacks him. Eventually, Kara accepts that Krypton has been destroyed and that Superman is indeed her grown-up cousin.
Calle will be the fourth actress to portray the character in live action, after Melissa Benoist on the CBS/CW TV series Supergirl, Laura Vandervoort on WB/CW series Smallville, and Helen Slater in the 1984 film Supergirl that was a spinoff from the Superman films starring Christopher Reeve. The character has also appeared a number of times in animation, including Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited (voiced by Nicholle Tom), and the Super Best Friends Forever DC Nation animated shorts (voiced by Nicole Sullivan).
The Flash is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 4, 2022.