D.C. Universe’s upcoming Stargirl series has now added a bit of smartass star power to its efforts to lure viewers into the streaming service, with Variety reporting that TV mainstay Joel McHale has signed on for a recurring role on the Brec Bassinger-starring show. Specifically, McHale will be playing Justice Society member Sylvester Pemberton, a.k.a. “the Golden Age Starman,” whose career serves as a presumed inspiration and contrast to the teen-hero antics of Stargirl herself.
Weirdly enough, something like 10 different D.C.Comics characters have used the name Starman over the years, but Pemberton (created in 1941) was never one of them; instead, he went by Star-Spangled Kid (and later Skyman, when the whole “Kid” thing was eventually played out). He does have a close connection to Stargirl, at least, since its his equipment (a “cosmic belt”) that gives Courtney Whitmore her powers, but that didn’t stop our minds from immediately jumping to the assumption, when we heard that McHale was playing Starman, that it’d be as the ’90s take on the character, Jack Knight, whose sarcastic personality would be a lot more in line with the actor’s public persona.
The live-action Stargirl series is being showrun by D.C. Comics mastermind Geoff Johns, and comes from the Greg Berlanti superhero content factory. The 13-episode series is expected to debut on DC Universe next year.