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Stargirl Season 2 Casts Jim Gaffigan as Voice of Thunderbolt

While the last time we checked in with The CW's second season of hit series Stargirl, we were learning the names of Eclipso and The Shade's real-world counterparts (more on that below). For this round of casting news, we're shifting our spotlight back to the heroes, with EW reporting that comedian Jim Gaffigan will be voicing the CGI character of Thunderbolt, a magical, electrical, fun-loving, wish-granting pink imp from the mysterious land of Bahdnesia. Though Courtney (Brec Bassinger) and the new JSA need to be wary of this wish-granter because the wishes he grants often cause more trouble than the wish-asker would ever expect.

But despite his somewhat constant supernatural disasters, Thunderbolt's heart is always in the right place, even if it is wounded by the friends he has lost throughout his long existence. The first tease of Thunderbolt came during the first season when Courtney stole a pink pen from the old Justice Society of America headquarters. Pat (Luke Wilson) warns Courtney that the pen is not something to be messed with, but as we can tell from the casting news? Sounds like someone clicks that pen…

DC's Stargirl creator/executive producer Geoff Johns headed into last month's New York Comic Con-Metaverse with series stars Bassinger, Yvette Monreal ( Yolanda Montez aka Wildcat II), Anjelika Washington (Beth Chapel aka Doctor Mid-Nite II), Cameron Gellman (Rick Tyler aka Hourman II), and Meg DeLacy (Cindy Burman aka Shiv) to break down a number of the first season's key moments while also offering a behind-the-scenes perspective on how the series made it to air.

But it wasn't all about looking to the past, not with work underway on the series' second season- a season that Johns says will see them facing off against a "big bad" unlike any other: Eclipso [recently-announced Nick Tarabay]. "I'm so excited for Eclipso. He's so terrifying. I've always loved the character," explained Johns. "He's a very different antagonist or villain than the ISA. We're just starting to cast him, so we're looking for that. And I've got these wonderful designs from [costume designer] L.J. Shannon on what he's going to look like. But it's such a different, darker, scarier threat."

Johns went on to offer a little more insight into who (or what) it is that's inside Cindy's black diamond. "The thing inside it, this entity that's trapped, is this ancient being that feeds off humanity's own sins and grief and fear and darkness," he revealed. "It has been there for a long, long time and is aching to do what he does and feed off the darkness within humanity. It's going to take a lot to confront it, and it's going to take the JSA and every one of our wonderful characters to a place that's going to be tough for them to explore."

But what fun would there be with only one "big bad" next season when you can have two- especially one that tends to be a bit "shady," shall we say? "We're going to see a lot of the Shade [recently-announced Jonathan Cake]," Johns revealed. "He's another main character that's going to be coming into season 2. He's a pretty famous and popular character from James Robinson's run on Starman… He's an immortal that's been around for hundreds of years. He's a member of the ISA… and he was the only member of the ISA who wasn't present in Blue Valley today, but we saw him when the shadow hand grabbed Dr. Mid-Nite in the opening of the pilot."

Though he may prefer to stay in the background, for now, Johns stresses that the Shade isn't someone Courtney and the new JSA should underestimate for a second. "As Pat [Luke Wilson] will tell Courtney at some point, he's the most powerful of them all," he explains. "He's very threatening because no one knows exactly what he wants. But we'll be playing a lot with the Shade."

Also, those still-unclaimed items that Courtney still has that haven't found their proper "home" yet? Johns says that those will come into play during the season, and will factor into Courtney realizing that there are some things in all of this she can't control. Like the return of Sylvester Pemberton (Joel McHale) for example? That would be one of those things, with Johns confirming that viewers will get some clarity during the second-season premiere.

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