Stargirl is unfortunately set to come to an end, with the well-received DCTV series concluding with its third season. This comes amid a slew of changes at The CW network, which itself is saying goodbye to the form it's taken over the past several years. Though the show's second home may not be long for the world, Stargirl may be able to find a second life thanks to DC Studios' new leader.
James Gunn is now trying to right the disparate ship that was DC's film division, as well as shepherding the TV and animated programming. Given Gunn's apparent passion for all these aspects of DC project production, there's definitely a chance that the show starring Brec Bassinger's Courtney Whitmore can fly further and higher. Given the potential for this resurrection, here's a look at exactly why it should happen.
Stargirl Features the Best Portrayal of DC's Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America may be one of DC's biggest superhero teams in the comics, but they've taken a lot longer to jump from comic books to other mediums. In live-action, they've been portrayed in the shows Smallville and Legends of Tomorrow, while the recent movie Black Adam put the JSA on the big screen. In these situations, however, the team was in an incredibly minute in role, being there more for fanservice than to be major characters. Even Black Adam had them in a mostly antagonistic role, with their ranks also being fairly diminutive compared to most incarnations.
Stargirl put the Justice Society front and center, with more members of the team portrayed here than ever before outside the comics. This has seen the series to introduce many characters from the Golden Age of Comics, most of whom were on either the JSA or Infinity, Inc. for their younger counterparts. Continuing the show would allow other Golden Age heroes and villains to be introduced, especially since they might not get much spotlight anywhere else.
Stargirl Can Be the DCU's Premiere Alternate Universe Going Forward
Stargirl occupies a continuity known as Earth-2, reflecting the similar world of the Golden Age heroes in the comics. Heretofore, this second Earth has been the Earth-2 of the Arrowverse following the events of the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. The Arrowverse itself is pretty much dead, however, with even The CW obviously done with the shared universe. Given that multiverse shenanigans might be employed following the upcoming Flash movie, it'll be easy to make the world of Stargirl the Earth-2 of the cinematic DC Universe going forward.
This idea is made stronger by James Gunn's insistence on "telling the biggest story ever told" across multiple mediums, including television. Thus, new seasons of Stargirl would get a glow-up by now being connected in some way to films such as Man of Steel, Wonder Woman and The Suicide Squad, even if it's only as an alternate universe. Such a connection could also see fan-favorite John Wesley Shipp be the Jay Garrick Flash on the big screen.
Stargirl Has Cinematic Star Powers, From Its Actors to Its Quality
Originally starting out as a series on the DC Universe app, Stargirl only became a CW series in its second season. Despite this "CW" status, it's had production values and actors beyond the scope of the Arrowverse. Joel McHale, Luke Wilson and Amy Smart have prominent roles in the series, and even the rising star of leading actress Brec Bassinger has quickly become a fan-favorite. This makes Stargirl a major departure from most shows on The CW -- namely those of the Arrowverse variety -- which are typically criticized for their talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Some of the acting quality on the shows have only heightened the "soap opera" sentiment of some viewers, something which is only made worse by how cheap the shows themselves are.
Having a somewhat small budget isn't necessarily a problem for shows such as Walker or even the zany Riverdale. Given the superheroic scope of the Arrowverse, however, the tatters and patches quickly become apparent. That's not quite the case with Stargirl or the likely also-ending Arrowverse-adjacent series Superman & Lois, both of which have a much more cinematic quality to them. This cinematic quality would make it easy to cross Stargirl and her fellow Justice Society members over with the DCU proper, as the production level of the show would keep this from looking jarring. Hopefully, this will see the series continued or revived as an HBO Max series with a potentially even bigger budget, effectively giving Stargirl and the best version of the JSA the push they deserve.