This Star Has a Surprise Cameo in ‘Superman’—Here’s Why It’s Important

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s...a big spoiler for the superhero flick!

Superman / Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The highly anticipated Superman reboot finally hit theaters this Friday, and fans are in for a rip-roaring good time. Director, producer and writer James Gunn’s latest comic book crusade is already certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, boasting a critics’ score of 82% and an audience score of 95% at the time of this article’s publication.

Everything leading up to this film has been absolutely delightful, as the main trio—including David Corenswet as the titular alien-turned-superhero, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor—have been having a super-fun time on their press tour, resulting in endless memes and silly clips. (Seriously, Corenswet not knowing what “ate” meant in a complimentary context might be one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen.)

Still, any superhero movie fan knows that the cast we see doing press is only half of it, as there are bound to be some fun cameos being kept under wraps.

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And the high-flying film definitely delivers on those cameos—several times over, in fact. With unexpected actors playing unexpected characters, it’s clear this rendition of the DC Universe is setting up something special...and this is the point in the article where I have to warn you about SPOILERS AHEAD. So, if you haven’t seen Superman and don’t want to be spoiled, this is your warning!

Spoilers for Superman incoming. In three.

Two.

One.

Okay, what are you still doing here? I said SPOILERS?! This is your last chance!

Still here? All right, my curious friend—you’ve been warned:

Who plays Supergirl?

Milly Alcock of House of the Dragon fame makes her debut as DC Universe’s Supergirl in the film!

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The actress confirmed back in January 2024 that she’d be taking on the role, and her brief appearance in this movie has fans pumped. Per Business Insider, the rising star briefly appears in the film as the famous cousin of the superhero after crash-landing into the Man of Steel’s Fortress of Solitude following his big fight with Luthor. There, she also reveals that everyone's favorite pup Krypto actually belongs to her, and Superman was merely pet-sitting.

As further noted by the outlet, this cameo is incredibly important, as it sets up the next film in the franchise, which will focus entirely on Alcock’s character. This film—titled Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow—is currently slated to be released in June of 2026.

Other important cameos

But Alcock wasn’t the only fun surprise appearance in the film, with others including a couple of tried-and-true Gunn movie staples.

For one, Bradley Cooper appears in the film as Superman’s father Jor-El, reuniting with Gunn after providing the voice for Rocket Raccoon in the mega-popular Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for Marvel, marking a possible crossover to DC for the star.

Another Gunn cameo was John Cena, who reprised his role as Peacemaker from the director’s The Suicide Squad film and HBO’s Peacemaker spin-off show for a humorous clip of the not-so-super character chatting on a talk show.

And of course, Gunn’s brother Sean Gunn—who has had a role in pretty much every one of his sibling’s projects—appears as the character of Maxwell Lord, a tech billionaire.

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Overall, these cameos provide a fun flavor to the film itself, while also helping to set up what is sure to be a rich and exciting start to Gunn’s reimagined DC Universe!

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