Earlier this year, CBS ended the search for the new Girl of Steel when Glee actress Melissa Benoist was cast as Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl for the new TV series. Now, Supergirl’s mother has been found
Deadline is reporting that Laura Benanti has been signed to play Alura Zor-El in the Supergirl series. Alura is the birth mother of Kara who sends her to Earth before the destruction of Krypton. According to the official description, Alura’s “wisdom and guidance echoes across space and time, proving invaluable on Kara’s journey toward becoming Supergirl.”
Benanti is a Tony winning actress who currently has a recurring role on Nashville. Her previous TV roles include The Playboy Club, Go On, Nurse Jackie and Law & Order: SVU.
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Alura was created by comic book icons Otto Binder and Al Plastino in 1959. She was previously portrayed by Mia Farrow in the 1984 Supergirl movie and by Helen Slater (the Supergirl from the movie) in the TV series Smallville.
Despite Alura’s apparent death on Krypton, there have been comic book storylines in which Alura and her husband Zor-El survived and eventually reunited with Kara on Earth and New Krypton. While that story may be too big to feature on TV, the description seems to hint that Alura will play a role in the ongoing development of her daughter perhaps in the same way that recordings of Jor-El guide his son, Superman in various incarnations.
The Supergirl pilot was written by executive producers Greg Berlanti and Ali Adler. CBS has already ordered Supergirl to series and it will likely debut in Fall 2015.
