Stargirl creator Geoff Johns hints at ‘shady’ new villains for Season 2 at NYCC

DC’s Stargirl hasn't gone back into production for its second season yet, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot fans can still get excited about — especially with the first season coming to a close on some big plot points. 

Today's NYCC panel saw Stargirl executive producer (and creator of her comic self) Geoff Johns join some of the show's young cast, including Brec Bassinger (Bella & the Bulldogs), Yvette Monreal (Rambo: Last Blood), Anjelika Washington (Girl’s Room), Cameron Gellman (Heathers), and Meg DeLacy (The Fosters), as they discussed some of their biggest highlights from Season 1, and what their characters will have to face when Season 2 does eventually premiere on The CW. 

"Everybody's got a really good journey ahead of them," teased Johns early on in the panel, already deep into the writing process of Episode 4. 

One of the things on the horizon for the Justice Society of America, and more specifically the show, in general, is the introduction of two new villains when the series returns, The Shade and Eclipso, though fans will have seen a glimpse of the former in a portrait of the Injustice Society of America. 

"We're going to see a lot of The Shade. That's another big character that's going to be coming into season 2," said Johns, of the latest bad guy who'll be gunning for Blue Valley.

"He's a pretty famous and popular character from James Robinson's run on Starman," he then added, citing one of the current producers and writers on The CW's latest superhero series and his acclaimed comic book run. "[Robinson] took this really obscure character from the '40s who has this ability to tap into darkness and shadows, and updated him, gave him a massive history that's really fun to explore."

Johns then continued, "He's an immortal whos' been around for hundreds of years. He's a member of the ISA, and he's in that mural behind Sportsmaster and Huntress, [as] we saw his glasses kind of behind her. However, beyond this, he's the only member of the ISA that wasn't present in Blue Valley during the events that transpired."

The other villain that will soon grace villains' screens is none other than Eclipso, who Johns says is a very different antagonist or villain than anyone within the ISA. Though he also hasn't been cast yet. 

"[He] is such a different darker, and more scary threat, albeit with its own share of occasional lightness," noted Johns of what fans can expect when Eclipso eventually makes his debut. "The threat is Cindy's black diamond and we're gonna obviously explore that... But this entity that's trapped inside it, this ancient being that feeds off humanity's own sins and grief and fear and darkness, is trapped in this black diamond and has been there a long, long time and is aching to do what he does and feed off the darkness within humanity. It's going to take a lot to confront it. It's going to take the JSA to a place that's going to be tough for them to explore." 

There will also be two more additions to the cast, though Johns remains tight-lipped on the matter. However, he did hint that fans can definitely look forward to better group dynamics between Stargirl and her friends while she's fighting against the ISA when they make their return. 

"Stargirl needs her team, and her team needs her," says Johns. "That's going to be paramount... It doesn't work without the group.

There's also the matter of the reappearance of Starman himself, Sylvester Pemberton, a role that's played by Joel McHale in their recent Emmy round-up series.. Though it may not be clear right away why or how he's back, Johns states that viewers will start to get an inkling of why he might back on a series within the first episode. 

Stargirl has been renewed for a second season that will air on The CW. No release date has set for the Season 3 premiere, yet. 

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