Return to the world of ‘Stargirl’: What to know about the sequel movie
Amidst the lackluster 2020 rollout of Disney Plus original content was Stargirl. This family film told the story of a teenage boy who makes an exciting friend in Stargirl, a free-spirited thinker who puts her own twist on the high school experience.
Stargirl was released on the Disney Plus streaming app on March 13th, 2020, just in time for the current global pandemic! All kidding aside, Stargirl was surprisingly charming, cute, and provided audiences with an uplifting message about acceptance. In fact, the movie was so well received that we’re getting a Stargirl sequel, as announced by Disney on Tuesday.
The sequel will see director Julia Hart return to helm the movie, with most of the original cast is set to return as well! We’re oddly excited for a follow-up to 2020’s Stargirl, and wish to uncover more about the project. Care to join us?
Disney’s Stargirl
Based on the Jerry Spinelli novel of the same name, Stargirl told the story of Leo (Graham Verchere), a teenage boy who lost his father at a young age. Leo, who socially struggles in high school along with his misfit friends, encounters new student Stargirl (Grace VanderWaal), an eccentric teenage girl who loves to sing and see the positive in everything.
Stargirl presents Leo with her own big & original ideas of the world, ideas that shouldn’t be considered by the simple minds of a high school student. Still, after a few twists & turns, Leo learns the impact Stargirl has had on his life, even before the two had even met.
The movie offers fans a breakout performance by star Grace VanderWaal, who many recognize as the winner of NBC’s eleventh season of America’s Got Talent in 2016. Stargirl highlighted all the quirks we love about VanderWaal, possibly typecasting her in this lead role, a role, mind you, that would’ve been perfect for Zooey Deschanel had it come out in the early 1990s.
Stargirl response
Currently, Stargirl sits at an impressive 72% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience rating of 86%. Many reviews praise the efforts of the movie’s young cast, all of who are relatively new to the acting game.
Pete Hammond, a respected film critic from Deadline Hollywood called the movie both “sweet & smart”, complimenting its simple albeit interesting story, that seems to magically capture the high school experience in a fantastical way.
It makes sense that Disney would want to move forward with a sequel, as not only is there a follow-up book to the original Stargirl, but the film was relatively cheap to make, helping fix Disney’s problem of lacking original content on their streaming service.
Stargirl 2
The sequel to Stargirl, which was announced earlier this week, will likely be based on the book Love, Stargirl. We have also learned that the sequel will bring veteran actress Judy Greer (Jurassic World) on board, joining heavy hitters like Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad) who appeared in the original Disney Plus film.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the potential coming-of-age sequel will also bring on board actor Elijah Richardson (When They See Us) as the new romantic lead alongside returning star Grace VanderWaal.
While the title or plot is not yet confirmed, it is expected that we could see this movie as early as 2022, given the small budget and simple production schedule for a film of this scale, which is still only in the casting process.
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Are you excited for another Stargirl movie? What did you think of the first one? What is your favorite original property to come out of Disney Plus so far? Comment below and let us know your thoughts.
