The CW series Stargirl could have had a spinoff, the details of which have been explained by the show's creator. Stargirl, which is based on the character of the same name from DC Comics, premiered in 2020 and ran for three seasons. It followed a teen girl named Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) who finds a staff once owned by the hero Starman and begins to channel its cosmic power.
TVLine sat down with Stargirl creator Geoff Johns for an interview about the series finale, which aired on December 7. During their conversation, he reveals that a storyline in which Jennie Hayden/Jade (Ysa Penarejo) and her twin Todd/Obsidian (Tim Gabriel) were left with Richard Swift/The Shade (Jonathan Cake) to learn how to handle their natural superpowers was intended to be a setup for a spinoff that never came to be. The show would have followed "The Shade and Jade hunting down the remaining family members" and featured a much different set of characters than Stargirl itself, acting as a juxtaposition to the original series. Read Johns' full quote below:
Yes, I think there was a great show in Infinity Inc, with The Shade and Jade hunting down the remaining family members — the sons and daughters and nephews and nieces — of the original JSA, those who were born with power that didn’t yet unlock it.
[That show could illustrate] a really interesting difference between Courtney’s JSA and what Jennie’s JSA would’ve been. [It could show] characters that were born with powers that had to learn how to handle this power they inherited, [instead of] people who became superheroes through artifacts and not necessarily a bloodline.
Why Stargirl Was Cancelled After Season 3
Unfortunately for fans of the series, not only did the spinoff fail to come to fruition, but Stargirl is now officially off the air. The news that Stargirl would be ending with season 3 came in October of this year, when the season was already almost halfway over. This cancellation most likely wasn't the result of viewership numbers, though season 3's ratings had dropped somewhat from season 2, maxing out at .51 million.
The most likely reason for the show going off the air is the shakeups going on behind the scenes at The CW. Earlier this year, it was announced that the network's parent company was putting it up for sale, claiming it had never turned a profit at any point since it was created 15 years ago. Many shows were left on the bubble during this period, and when the deal was settled with the company Nexstar, The CW took the axe to many shows, including the Arrowverse superhero series DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Naomi, and Batwoman, along with reboot series including Roswell, New Mexico and Dynasty. It was later announced that some series that had already been renewed, including the popular teen drama Riverdale and The Flash, would be concluding with their next seasons.
Additionally, in a recent quarterly earnings call for Nexstar, the company revealed it doesn't have plans to continue many, if any, of the series that are still on The CW into the 2023-2024. This means that every single show on the network is on thin ice, including popular series like Jared Padalecki's Texas Ranger reboot Walker and the new Supernatural prequel The Winchesters. This means that, even if Stargirl had been renewed or gotten that Shade and Jade spinoff approved, neither show likely would have survived for very long after that.
Source: TVLine