Dogma Convinced Andrew Kreisberg That Kevin Smith Was Right For Supergirl

Kevin Smith might have a couple episodes of the Flash under his belt (and another episode of Supergirl on the way) but he was a little apprehensive to direct superhero stories on film or television.

Until producer Andrew Kreisberg gave him the shot in the arm he needed.

“For me, to get to play in that world, I was a little scared by virtue of the fact that my first thing I did for [DC’s TV universe] was Flash and that episode wasn’t effects-heavy,” Smith said, “and Supergirl, everything she does … she breathes in that costume and it’s an effect that costs money and stuff. I was a little trepidatious going into that.”

Smith said that he even tried to back out of the episode before production began.

“I said to Andrew, I was like, ‘Dude, I love the script but you’re going to space, this is ambitious. You’re going off-planet. Are you sure? You might want to get somebody who does this regularly.’”

But Kreisberg knew he had the man for the job.

“He goes, ‘Kevin, you did Dogma, you can handle this.’ I got to go into it feeling good.”

Smith elaborated that the production crew was a great help for his episode.

“This is a new crew for season two because the show moved from Los Angeles to Vancouver,” Smith said, “so by the time I got up there, it was episode nine, they’d been working together for eight episodes prior to me and finding their footing together as a cast and crew coalescing.”

He said he really enjoyed his time making the episode and leaving his first mark on the Supergirl mythos.

“I got there and they were fantastic,” Smith said. “It was a real collaborative experience, not just me and the crew, but me and the cast across the board.”

Russ Burlingame contributed to this report.

KEVIN SMITH DIRECTS; ROULETTE RETURNS — Kara (Melissa Benoist) is moved by the story of a missing woman named Izzy (guest star Harley Quinn Smith) and decides to investigate despite Snapper Carr’s (guest star Ian Gomez) order to leave it alone. Kara takes Mon-El (Chris Wood) with her to the last place Izzy was seen and the duo find themselves thrust through a portal to another planet, Slaver’s Moon, where the downtrodden are sold as slaves. The leader of the trafficking ring is none other than Roulette (Dichen Lachman).

To make matters worse, Slaver’s Moon has a red sun, which means Kara and Mon-El are stripped of their powers and stuck on the planet with no way home. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Alex (Chyler Leigh) blames herself for Kara’s disappearance, fearing she’s become too focused on her new relationship with Maggie (guest star Floriana Lima) and too complacent in watching out for her sister.

Kevin Smith directed the midseason premiere episode with story by Andrew Kreisberg and teleplay by Eric Carrasco & Jess Kardos. “Supergirl Lives” airs Monday, January 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW

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