Though the DC Universe may be shifting away from original series content, Stargirl fans were elated by the news that Stargirl Season 2 has a new home at The CW. Hopefully production is running on schedule as the country slowly returns to some sense of normalcy. Until then, during the first virtual NYCC weekend, fans were treated to a Stargirl panel with DC’s Stargirl creator/executive producer Geoff Johns as well as series stars Brec Bassinger (Courtney Whitmore/Stargirl), Yvette Monreal (Yolanda Montez/Wildcat), Anjelika Washington (Beth Chap/Doctor Mid-nite), Cameron Gellman (Rick Tyler/Hourman), and Meg DeLacy (Cindy Burman/Shiv).
The Stargirl panel began with everyone checking in with each other how they were doing in the midst of this pandemic. In anticipation for when filming for Stargirl Season 2 begins, Bassinger is getting back into Stargirl shape having recently completed a nine mile hike. Likewise, Washington has been discovering new hiking trails in Los Angeles.
Johns revealed he and the writers continue to communicate via Zoom and with the new season broken down, they’re currently working on episode 4.
Gellman reminisced on the first season’s episode “The Justice Society” that featured a night shoot fight scene that Gellman compared to being at summer camp. Bassinger remembered it was a particularly difficult night of filming due to the unpredictable weather. In her words, “it felt like not only Tigress and Sportmaster against us but the whole world!” Washington praised the amazing work of the show’s stunt team. That scene was very eye opening for Geoff to see how close and supportive cast was to each other.
A behind-the-scenes secret revealed by Gellman- apparently the strained expression on Hourman’s face wasn’t intended but simply the result of a previous workout. Nevertheless, it worked for the scene to show some vulnerability.
The explosive season finale saw DeLacy have mixed emotions about killing her father Dragon King. On the one hand, she adored Nelson Lee (the actor who played Dragon King) but on the other hand she found the scene very liberating. Despite his apparent death, Gellman postulated that he may still be alive since lizards do heal.
While Solomon Grundy appearances may have been limited until the season finale, Johns promised that Grundy’s story is far from over hinting Rick Tyler hasn’t seen the last of him. Also expect Yolanda dealing with the repressions of killing Brainwave Sr. and Beth’s search to bring the Chuck McNider AI back.
The season finale also teased the villains Eclipso and The Shade for Season 2. Naturally, Johns is keeping things close to the vest but did say Eclipso is a different antagonist than the Injustice Society. They’re currently in the midst of casting with Laura Jean “LJ” Shannon providing “wonderful designs” according to Johns. With James Robinson‘s involvement on Stargirl, it’s not surprising that they’re taking cues from his update on The Shade from his acclaimed Starman run as an immortal with mysterious dealings throughout history.
Towards the end of the Stargirl panel, Johns and the cast answered a fan questions such if we’ll be seeing the other JSA items Courtney took (such as the Green Lantern and Johnny Thunderbolt’s pink pen) Johns played it coy simply saying, “Yes and no.” Bassinger is excited about the prospect of Courtney adding more members to her team.
The implications and questions related to the apparent return of original Starman played by Joel McHale will be dealt with at the very beginning of Season 2.
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