Watch the first trailer for The CW and DC Universe's Stargirl
Meet TV’s newest star-spangled superhero.
The CW unveiled the first teaser for Stargirl during Crisis: Aftermath, EW’s Kevin Smith-hosted after-show for this year’s Arrowverse crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths” Tuesday night. While the Greg Berlanti-produced superhero show was originally developed for the DC Universe, it will air on that streaming platform and the CW when it debuts next year. Watch the trailer above!
Executive produced by showrunner and character creator Geoff Johns, Stargirl follows Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger), a high schooler who is forced to relocate from Los Angeles to Blue Valley, Nebraska after her mother re-marries. To her surprise, though, she discovers her new step-father Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson) used to be Stripesy, the sidekick of JSA Member Starman (Joel McHale). As the trailer reveals, Starman’s staff isn’t supposed to work for anyone except for him, and yet it does for Courtney, much to Pat’s surprise.
Not only does Courtney decide to take up the mantle of Starman as Stargirl, but she also brings Pat out of retirement to be her sidekick as the 15-foot robot Stripesy. “This has to be the reason the Staff lit up,” says Courtney in the trailer. “The Staff chose me and I choose you.”
The character of Stargirl holds a special place in Johns’ heart for several reasons. “She’s the first character I ever wrote in comic books and created her in my very first comic book,” Johns told Smith when he dropped by Crisis Aftermath. “She was inspired by my late sister, so it means a lot to me personally to have come off the page and onto the screen like this, and to work with the crew and the cast that I did. It was amazing.”
During the special, Johns also revealed how he ended up casting Bassinger and Wilson in their respective parts.
“I looked at so many casting tapes and people that came in. Actually Brec Bassinger — she plays Stargirl, she’s amazing —right when I saw her, I was like, ‘That’s her.’ She actually is a superhero to me. She’s an amazing actor to work with. She embodies like a heroic nature, [is] super nice, and incredibly talented. But it was her humor and heart that came through in that tape. Then, she came in and read for us live and it just confirmed everything that I felt,” he said. “For Pat Dugan, played by Luke Wilson, I wrote the part for him. I didn’t know him, but when I wrote Pat Dugan, I thought of Luke Wilson and I wrote him a letter. I said, ‘Hey, I wrote this for you,’ and he loved it.”
The rest of the drama’s cast includes: Henry Thomas as Golden Age Dr. Mid-Nite; Lou Ferrigno Jr. (S.W.A.T.) as Golden Age Hourman; Amy Smart (Justified) as Courtney’s mom Barbara; Meg DeLacy (The Fosters) as Cindy Burman, Courtney’s classmate and the daughter of the JSA’s longtime enemy, Dragon King (Nelson Lee); and Trae Romano as Courtney’s stepbrother Mike.
Berlanti Productions president Sarah Schechter and showrunner Melissa Carter (Queen Sugar) also serve as executive producers.
Stargirl is expected to premiere in second quarter 2020. Every episode will be available on DC Universe and The CW’s free digital platforms following the linear broadcast.
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