Supergirl at SDCC 2018: Change Is Coming And It’s Good!

Diversity was the name of the game at this year’s annual convention, and Supergirl at SDCC 2018 was no different. The biggest news was that in season 4, Supergirl will introduce TV’s first trans superhero, played by a trans actress.

A lot of changes were afoot for Supergirl at SDCC 2018. Seasons 3’s departures (Chris Wood’s Mon-El and Jeremy Jordan’s Winn Schott – off to the future as part of the Legion) left some openings in the cast, and they are filling them in a big way. Nicole Maines has been cast as Nia Nal, aka Dreamer, a young trans woman with a strong yearning to protect others. She’ll join the team as a reporter at CatCo, having served as Cat Grant’s intern in Washington, DC. Maines’ casting is ground-breaking; not only is Nia Nal the first trans superhero on television, Maines herself is trans. At a time when casting non-trans actors to play trans characters is still the norm, shows like Sense8 and Pose and now Supergirl are proving that there are talented trans actors out there to play these roles.

Nia won’t be the only new face around National City in season 4. April Parker Jones will be suiting up as “hardline career military woman” Colonel Hadley, and David Ajala has been cast as Manchester Black, a DC Comics anti-hero and eventual supervillain. These three join previously announced series regulars Jesse Rath as Brainiac-5 (who was introduced in season 3 as a member of the Legion of Super Heroes) and Sam Witwer as Benjamin Lockwood, aka Agent Liberty. Agent Liberty narrates the new trailer that was released for Supergirl at SDCC 2018, which mainly features clips from season 3.

Cast changes aren’t the only thing coming to Supergirl season 4. When Supergirl returns in October, it will be on Sunday! I’ve no idea why this decision was made. Sundays are usually a day where TV shows go to die. Perhaps the CW is just trying to make some room on the schedule for all of its new fall shows.

Check out our interviews with executive producers Jessica Queller and Robert Rovner, as well as cast members Melissa Benoist, Chyler Leigh, Mehcad Brooks, and Katie McGrath as they discuss what we can expect to see when Supergirl returns on October 14.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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