“What are your biggest fears?” is already a heavy question, but it hits a little differently when it is being asked of someone leading a massive new DC movie. Milly Alcock was heading into Supergirl with the cape and the pressure of fan expectations that come with being one of the first major faces of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU. Before the box-office conversation around the film got thornier, she was already talking openly about the fear that comes with being rejected on such a large-scale franchise.Ahead of Supergirl’s 2026 movie schedule release, Alcock spoke to Variety and discussed everything from auditioning for the role to tuning out toxic fan chatter. The interview was conducted in mid-April, before either the actress or the interviewer had seen the finished film, which makes her comments about fear especially interesting now, given the film's less-than-stellar opening-weekend box-office projections. When asked about her biggest fears, she said:I mean, that it won’t do well, obviously. That I will never work again! The obvious ones — that I’ll be rejected in some way. But I have a good support system around me in terms of my friends and family. So I think that’s what matters. This isn’t real life, you know?Honestly, that's a pretty human answer. It's also one that sounds much more grounded than the usual “I just hope people connect with it” press-tour answer. Alcock knew the movie could stumble, fans could reject it and that the internet could decide she was the problem, because it loves finding one face to pin a giant studio machine onto. And, unfortunately, that appears to be sort of playing out in real time. That's part of what makes this interview and the current situation surrounding the film so interesting. When early reactions to Supergirl arrived, there were already strong opinions about Alcock and Jason Momoa as Lobo. A lot of those reactions specifically praised the woman stepping into the role of the Girl of Steel, even when people were split on the film, she was highlighted as a positive standout. But once a new superhero movie starts underperforming, nuance tends to be the first thing tossed out of the airlock. The Sirens actress seemed aware of that even before the movie opened. She continued:Not everyone can like everything. And I think I got the greatest fulfillment and joy, and what I’m really taking away from this experience is how much I’ve grown as a person. I’m not really concerned with how it’s received at the moment, because I can’t control that.That tracks with what she has said elsewhere about the role. The Upright performer has talked about Kara being kind of a mess in the DCU, and not every fan clicked with her drunken cameo in Superman. But Alcock has also made it clear that she sees Kara as someone wrestling with pain, not floating around as some perfect superhero symbol. She has been candid about how intimidating the whole thing felt, too, which makes her comments about being terrified after landing the role feel even more relevant now that the film is underperforming and being compared to some of Marvel's less-than-great outings like The Marvels.The hardest part is that the House of the Dragon breakout star is right about how little control actors have once a movie leaves their hands. She put it plainly:And as an actor, you don’t have a lot of control. You don’t choose what you say, what you wear, where you stand, how it’s cut.That is worth remembering as Supergirl’s disappointing box-office results start to turn into an online blame cycle. Alcock showed up, gave the role everything she had and tried to make Kara feel real. But she cannot control the editing, the marketing or how audiences respond once the movie is out in the world.As for how Supergirl is landing, the movie’s opening weekend has been softer than DC likely hoped, though the audience reaction appears to be warmer than the critical one. As of this writing, the film sits at 56% on Rotten Tomatoes from 275 critic reviews, while its Popcornmeter score is at 77% from more than 2,500 verified audience ratings. So, while the box office conversation may be rough, the people who have actually bought tickets seem more divided than outright dismissive.Anyone curious about the particular new take on Kara can still judge the movie for themselves. Supergirl is playing in theaters now, so fans who want to see how they feel about DC’s latest big-screen swing can grab a ticket, a Lobo popcorn bucket and make up their own minds.