'Stargirl' Creator Geoff Johns Reveals Inspiration for E

From ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ to ‘Knives Out,’ Johns had an arsenal of inspiration for the DC series.

And it’s a wrap for The CW’s Stargirl on its own terms! The series is one of the exceptions to the DC shows that got axed this year under David Zaslav’s new regime. When the makers of the hit show received a heads-up that a wave of cancelation was about to sweep through shows, they decided to give the characters a proper send-off. In a new interview with TV Line, creator Geoff Johns discussed cutting the tease for what could have been an “insane” Season 4 and the legacy of Stargirl.

Speaking about the ideas for Season 4, the creator admitted that the “idea of what we were going to do was insane.” He went on to explain the ideas behind each season and their efforts to “do something very different,” with each one. He explained that the first season was a “coming of age superhero story in the same vein of a lot of movies I loved growing up, like Karate Kid and Back to the Future.” So for the second season, the creative team tried “more horror-based” stories which were inspired by films like Nightmare on Elm Street and Flatliners. For the current season Johns reveals the inspiration was “mysteries like Murder, She Wrote and Knives Out.” Speaking of Season 4, he revealed an “inspiration that was very different,” adding:

“Someday I’ll talk about it. But the change to that final scene is very minor. I’m sure it will hit the [Internet] someday, because it’s not like we’re putting it in vault or anything. We’ll release it someday and maybe talk more about it.

Johns created the comic book character in 1999, inspired by his late sister who was killed in a 1996 plane crash. When asked about the legacy of the series he thinks it is, “the legacy of the fans of the show and where the show is in relation to other superhero shows is already being forged by the amazing response we got from the show.” He further commended Stargirl to be a handful of female DC superheroes who had their own show. He said, “Stargirl stands as one of the very few DC female superheroes that have had their own show. There’s Wonder Woman and Supergirl and Batwoman and now Stargirl. That’s a pretty awesome company to be in.”

The series featured, Brec Bassinger, Yvette Monreal, Anjelika Washington, Cameron Gellman, Trae Romano, Hunter Sansone, Meg DeLacy, Alkoya Brunson, Neil Hopkins, Joy Osmanski, Amy Smart, Luke Wilson, and Joel McHale.