'It Was Very Heartbreaking.' Sasha Calle Talks About Being Forced to Leave Supergirl Behind

Colombian-American actress Sasha Calle has had a tumultuous career over the past year and a half. She starred in the multi-million dollar superhero blockbuster 'The Flash' as Supergirl and is now promoting fellow Colombian-American Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio's semi-autobiographical film 'In the Summers,' in which she co-stars with Puerto Rican rapper Residente and almost-Batgirl Leslie Grace.

It was announced earlier this year that Calle would not be returning as Supergirl, with her role being recast with 'House of the Dragon''s breakout star, Australian actress Milly Alcock. Now, Calle has sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about her experience. It was excruciating.

'The Flash' came out in a very large transitionary period for DC and Warner Bros. The film had been in development for nearly a decade as management at DC changed and executives soured on the mixed reception of Zack Snyder's DC film universe, starting with the 2013 Superman origin film, 'Man of Steel,' starring Henry Cavill in the title role, and the subsequent polemic film 'Justice League'. At the time, DC had been floundering in indecision.

A 'Flash' of drama

In 2022, the year before 'The Flash' was released, it seemed DC had officially decided where it wanted to go. A subsidiary of Warner, DC Studios was founded with 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'The Suicide Squad' director James Gunn at the helm, with Gunn wanting to start fresh with a new universe. However, the timing could not have been worse, as The Rock's DC passion project 'Black Adam' had just been released, with the reappearance of Henry Cavill as Superman and the announcement that he would return in subsequent projects.

However, unbeknownst to Cavill, Gunn had been hired to write a script for a Superman film with another actor in the role before Cavill's appearance in 'Black Adam.' As CEO of DC Studios, this put Gunn in the unfortunate position of having to break to Cavill that he would not be coming back as Superman despite announcing his return just months before.

Just a few months before, Warner Bros. announced that the already-completed film 'Batgirl,' starring Calle's co-star in 'In the Summers,' and longtime friend, Leslie Grace, would not be released.

Calle tells The Hollywood Reporter's Brian Davids that "I don't know what I would've done without Leslie, to be honest with you. I feel like she got it even worse, and yet, she was just this divine light of love and warmth. She was just so beautiful. Again, she's my family. I could call her whenever, and we'd just have each other's backs. And even though it came from a really confusing and painful situation, we got to have this beautiful friendship that is true and honest and sincere and kind. It's very selfless.

This brings us to 2023's 'The Flash,' directed by 'IT' director Andy Muschietti, starring Miller in the title role, as well as Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton reprising their roles as their respective versions of Batman as well as Sasha Calle's Supergirl.

In the years before the release of 'The Flash,' Miller had faced numerous controversies due to mental breakdowns, assault charges, and abuse allegations by minors. This, with the announcement of Cavill's firing and Gunn's new universe, the movie was in a sort of limbo on what would happen to it once it was released, if it was even released at all. In the wake of this, Calle was the only actor from the film doing press for it.

Calle recalls, "It was very hard, I have to say. I had bittersweet feelings as I was maneuvering everything. I was very excited, but there were a lot of unanswered questions for me, so it was very bittersweet. I had a beautiful team around me to support me. I had beautiful publicists, and I had an amazing makeup artist and hairstylist who took care of me...'

Despite what some may have suspected, 'The Flash' was released in theaters on June 16, 2023, and heavily marketed by everyone at Warner Bros./DC. However, the return of Michael Keaton and Warner's heavy marketing could not save the project from being one of the biggest box office bombs in history, making just $271 million from a $200 million budget.

Despite Gunn publicly praising the film before its release, it seems like he was uninterested in continuing on with those versions of the characters, as in early 2024, Gunn announced a new slate of DC films, among them his new Superman film starring American actor David Corenswet and 'Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.'

Fans hoped that Calle would reprise the role in the upcoming film and expressed her desire to come back, however, later that month, it was announced that Alcock, would be playing the title role.

Even more frustrating for Calle was that the original ending that was shot for 'The Flash' was supposed to pave the way for more DC adventures with her as Supergirl and in the end the footage was cut for a gag where 'The Flash' meets George Clooney's Batman.

Calle says that "Of course it was [frustrating]! I was so deeply in love with that role. I had a conversation about her future many times. When I signed onto that, it was for a multiple picture deal. That's a common thing when you sign onto a franchise. So it was very heartbreaking for me, and it was very confusing."

However, Calle has made it clear that she will forever cherish the experience and knows she did her best.

"I look back at it as something super beautiful. It's been said that a queer Latina girl like me couldn't be Supergirl. But I was, and no one can take that away from me. That is the most important thing for me; I did something that mattered. And whether you saw yourself represented in me or not, a lot of people really connected with her and loved her.

I walked into a store the other day, and this huge black man, who was the security guard, came up to me and whispered, 'Hey.' And I was like, 'Yes?' And he was like, 'You're a badass.' And I was like, 'What are you talking about?' And he was like, 'You're Supergirl. You're a badass. We love you.' So for that man to have connected with my performance, it was such a beautiful moment, and those little moments are everything to me. So I have to stick with that. I did my job. I was given an opportunity, and I gave everything that I could have given. I love that and I'm proud of that, and I will continue moving forward and fighting standards. I'm just hoping to work with people who are very excited to work with me."