Stargirl season 2: release date, cast, trailer and latest news on DC Comics drama

The demonic entity will bring a darker tone to the show's sophomore season, with star Brec Bassinger naming A Nightmare on Elm Street and Stephen King's IT as tales that inspired showrunner Geoff Johns.

She told Entertainment Weekly: "I just think it's going to surprise people because it is so different from season one. And the first six episodes of the season, you feel like it's going one direction, and then the last part of our season just goes completely haywire, and where the season ends up going will really shock people."

That being said, fans of Stargirl's formerly bright and cheery tone shouldn't be put off, as Johns has also promised "humour and fun" in the new episodes (via EW), so it won't all be doom, gloom and hiding behind the sofa.

Read on for your essential briefing on all things Stargirl season two, including the Amazon Prime Video release date, cast, trailer and plot synopsis.

Stargirl season 2 release date

CONFIRMED: Stargirl season two will launch on Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday 11th August, with new episodes being added to the service weekly.

The show will debut in the United States the night before, with American broadcaster The CW pencilling in a premiere date of Tuesday 10th August at 8pm.

In May 2021, a full three months before the new episodes were due, The CW awarded Stargirl an early renewal for season three, ensuring the story of Courtney and her superhero pals won't end this year.

Stargirl season 2 cast

Brec Bassinger returns to the title role of Stargirl, also known by her civilian identity Courtney Whitmore. Bassinger is the third person to play the character in live-action after earlier appearances in Smallville and Legends of Tomorrow.

Co-star Luke Wilson also returns as stepfather Pat Dugan, who occasionally supports Courtney's super-heroics in a formidable suit of technologically advanced armour known as STRIPE.

Meanwhile, the Justice Society of America will also be back in action in season two, portrayed by Yvette Monreal (Wildcat II), Anjelika Washington (Doctor Mid-Nite II) and Cameron Gellman (Hourman II).

Project MC2 star Ysa Penarejo will be suiting up as fresh recruit Jade, the daughter of Alan Scott's Green Lantern, who will seemingly be following in her father's footsteps.

We can expect some new villains to fill the void left by the Injustice Society in season two, with Nick Tarabay (The Expanse) and Jonathan Cake (The Affair) joining the cast as Eclipso and The Shade respectively.

TVLine shared the first look at Eclipso in Stargirl season two, a character who executive producer Geoff Johns described as "terrifying" at 2020's New York Comic-Con.

Stargirl will face an old foe once again as Meg DeLacy is confirmed to be reprising the role of Cindy Burman – villainous daughter of the Dragon King – who discovered the mysterious Black Diamond in season one's finale.

"At the end of the season, we see [Cindy] getting the Black Diamond and we don't really know what it is yet," co-star Bassinger told EW. "So throughout the season, we're figuring out what it does and what it's capable of. But Cindy definitely wants revenge. She wanted to be part of the ISA, they wouldn't let her, so now that the ISA is gone, I think it's time she creates her own ISA."

Community star Joel McHale will reprise his role as Sylvester Pemberton/Starman, but Johns has warned fans they won't see much of him until the second half – and hinted that he may not come to the forefront until season three.

“In the best comic books, I always love the long-burning subplots, and the return of Starman, Sylvester Pemberton, is one of those," he teased in an interview with TVLine.

One guest star fans can look forward to is DC icon John Wesley Shipp, who will be reprising his role as Golden Age Flash – aka Jay Garrick – in episode nine of the second season, connecting Stargirl more closely with the wider CW-verse.

"It opens up the door to opportunities for us to eventually interact with those [Arrowverse] characters, and that was important,” Johns told TVLine. “And when we eventually do do it, we’ll do it in a hopefully special, Stargirl way.”

Will Stargirl be different after moving from HBO Max to The CW?

When news broke that Stargirl would be moving from HBO Max to The CW in its second season, some fans became concerned the new broadcaster could bring sweeping changes to the show – from the cast to the story structure.

In an interview with RadioTimes.com last summer, star Brec Bassinger assured that there would be "as few changes as possible" in the transition from streaming to broadcast television.

She said: "As far as I know there won't be any cast changes and I see a lot of people on Twitter and stuff being like, 'the writing's going to change'... but I want to tell them: Guys, Geoff Johns is still our showrunner and this is his passion project. Do you really think he's going to let it change?

"And this is just an example, most of the other superhero shows it's more of a villain-per-episode format – which is amazing, but our show is more of a season arc – and I know our season two is still going to have that season arc. So, as far as I know there's going to be as few changes as possible." Reassuring stuff!

In August 2021, as Stargirl season two neared its premiere, Bassinger discussed the topic some more with TVLine, stating that showrunner Geoff Johns made "strategic decisions" to ensure the show's visual effects weren't downgraded during the move.

"Coming into this season, he wanted to make sure we didn’t lose any of that 'piz-zow!' we had in the first season, so there were a lot strategic decisions he made that allowed us to keep the value of our show," she explained.

Bassinger particularly called out scenes between Stargirl and Green Lantern's daughter, saying it "blows my mind" how much the team were able to accomplish.

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Stargirl season 2 trailer

The first Stargirl season two trailer dropped in July 2021. It sees the JSA search for a new place in the world following their season one triumph, as well as introducing a new Green Lantern. Watch below.

Another trailer came shortly after, showing Stargirl and the gang cross paths with their latest nemesis, The Shade.

Stargirl returns to Amazon Prime Video UK on Wednesday 11th August. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.