‘Supergirl' Spoilers: Director Defends Movie's Shocking Ending (Exclusive)

Yes, Supergirl really did that.

The new DC superhero movie is inspired by the 2021–22 comic book arc Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow from Tom King and Bilquis Evely, but Ana Nogueira's script takes some pretty big deviations from the source material.

While both projects involve Kara Zor-El teaming up with Ruthye Marye Knoll to track down villain Krem of the Yellow Hills for poisoning Krypto and killing Ruthy's family, there's a pretty big difference in what happens at the final showdown between the trio.

Warning: We're about to get into heavy spoiler territory here, so keep reading at your own risk. Supergirl is in theaters now.

Inside Supergirl's Ending

After chasing Krem and his human trafficking cohorts around the galaxy-with Ruthye out for revenge and Supergirl desperately hoping to get an antidote for the poison he used on her powerful pooch-there's a bit of a confrontation between the bad guys, Kara, Ruthye, and Jason Momoa's Lobo.

Lobo, it should be mentioned, also isn't part of the comic version of this story either.

After Momoa's character helps do away with a number of the bad guys, Ruthye gets the opportunity to kill Krem, something she's been hoping for the whole film. Kara, however, talks her out of it, seemingly hoping to protect the young girl's innocence.

Supergirl then uses Ruthye's sword to kill him herself instead.

In the comics, Ruthye is unable to deliver the fatal blow to Krem after getting him in her crosshairs, having learned the difference between good and bad over their time together. Supergirl then steps in to help her kill Krem, only to be talked out of it by Ruthye, who tells her that "enough killing's been done."

Instead of death, the pair have him banished to the Phantom Zone for 300 years, in the hopes he'll be rehabilitated. The comic ends with Supergirl freeing him from his prison, bringing him to Ruthye, where he begs for forgiveness. She responds by bashing him in the head with her staff, before walking away.

It's then revealed that in a book Ruthye wrote about her time with Supergirl, she lied, claiming in it that Kara killed Krem with her sword all those ages ago. The two kept what actually happened to him a secret so his cohorts wouldn't search for him.

Director Defends Ending

In light of all the controversy caused when Henry Cavill's Superman broke his no-killing code by snapping General Zod's neck in Man of Steel-despite there being a comic book precedent for his actions-Men's Journal asked both Jason Momoa and director Craig Gillespie about the choice to have Kara pull a similar move here.

"I haven't seen the movie yet; we shot two versions," Momoa replied. When the Men's Journal reporter said they didn't have an issue with Kara's decision, Momoa added, "I love that for you."

Gillespie, meanwhile, was more forthcoming.

First, he explained what Momoa meant about having two versions of the ending. He clarified that there was never a version in which Krem lived, only one in which Lobo was more directly involved in how everything played out.

"There were two versions of how much [Lobo] helped. Not necessarily with that, but the whole fight sequence we did," he shared. "It was that balance of how much needs to be the two of them, it's ultimately Sueprgirl's story."

"But the actual ending never changed, which is amazing," he continued. "That's something [DC co-chairmen and co-CEO James Gunn] was stoic about all the way through, to the point there were sometimes conversations of, do we shoot a backup to that, in case we have the test screenings and it goes south."

"James was always, ‘Nope. This is it.' I loved that," Gillespie added. "It kind of informed the whole film for me, knowing we'd go that far at the end of the film, gives permission elsewhere to do things."

When asked whether the fan reception to the Man of Steel moment played into their thought process at all, Gillespie insisted that it wasn't the case.

"It actually didn't. It just felt like absolutely the right thing…it made sense to me as a character that she would do that," he continued. "Everything we've seen her do through the film, and the way she's processing everything, and the way she's different from Superman, I couldn't really see another conclusion. I think James felt the same way."

Supergirl is in theaters now.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 8:00 AM.