Amit Malaviya
Joel McHale (Community, The Soup), has hitched his wagon to a Star. The actor has signed on to play the role of Sylvester Pemberton, aka Starman, fka the Star-Spangled Kid. Having debuted in Action Comics #40, Pemberton was something of a flipped take on the usual superhero/sidekick power dynamic – he was a kid superhero with an adult sidekick in the form of Stripesy, aka Pat Dugan, who had a superhero career long before he was future Stargirl Courtney Whitmore’s stepfather. More popularly known as the Star-Spangled Kid (a moniker which was also used by Courtney before she became Stargirl) and later Skyman, Sylvester Pemberton had famously declined the Starman moniker in the comics, making this an interesting change, and allowing the character to join a long, illustrious line of Starmen.
Starring Brec Bassinger as the eponymous heroine, Stargirl follows a high school sophomore named Courtney Whitmore who inspires and rallies a motley crew of young, aspiring heroes to help her battle villains from the past. A member of the Justice Society of America, Starman charges into battle with a mysterious anti-gravity weapon called the cosmic staff.” It is as yet unclear as to whether or not he’ll also have his cosmic belt, or if that will be part of Courtney’s arsenal.
McHale is not the first person to portray Sylvester Pemberton – an earlier incarnation of the character appeared on Smallville, portrayed by Jim Shield.
Executive produced by DC Entertainment’s wunderkind Geoff Johns, the character of Stargirl was created by Johns himself in 1999. Modeled on Johns’ late sister – also named Courtney – Stargirl went on to become one of the biggest hit new creations of the late 90s and early 00s. In addition to executive producing the show, Johns will also be writing the pilot episode.
While a solid premiere date has not been given yet, Stargirl is expected to debut sometime in 2019.
