The core cast of Netflix’s Millarverse series ‘Jupiter’s Legacy‘ has been announced. As was previously reported, Josh Duhamel and Elena KampourisJupiter’s Legacy were in talks to portray Sheldon Sampson a.k.a. The Uptopian and his daughter, Chloe, respectively. Both have now been confirmed to be starring, with additional actors, Leslie Bibb, Andrew Horton, Ben Daniels, and Matt Lanter.
‘Jupiter’s Legacy’ based on the Mark Millar comic book of the same name, follows the first generation of superheroes, who gain their fantastic abilities after visiting a mysterious island during the Great Depression. Sheldon sees this as a chance to return America to greatness, a belief he holds on to for the rest of his life, even as times and politics change.
Bibb will play Sheldon’s wife, Grace Sampson (née Kennedy), also known as Lady Liberty. Sheldon was initially married to an ordinary woman named Jane, but after they are unable to bear children, he winds up married to Grace, who was unable to establish a social life after returning from the island with powers.
Bibb has superhero experience, having appeared as Christine Everhart in ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Iron Man 2’. Most recently, she starred as Viv on the sitcom ‘American Housewife’. She has had a lengthy career, having starred in the movies ‘Tag’, ‘The Babysitter’, ‘Zookeeper’, ‘A Good Old Fashioned Orgy’, ‘Law Abiding Citizen’, ‘Trick ‘R’ Treat’, ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby’, and more, as well as the TV series ‘Nobodies’, ‘The League’, ‘About a Boy’, ‘Burning Love’, ‘GCB’, ‘Kings’, ‘Crossing Jordan’, ‘Line of Fire’, ‘ER’ and ‘Popular’.
Horton will portray Sheldon and Grace’s son, Brandon. He inherits the powers of telekinesis and energy projection, although, like his sister Chloe, he prefers to use his abilities to become a celebrity and to shag groupies. He is angry and lacks direction and feels that Sheldon was absent for most of his upbringing.
Horton is a relative newcomer, having only appeared in the low-budget films ‘How to Talk to Girls At Parties’, and ‘It Came From the Desert’, and the British soap opera ‘Doctors’.
Sheldon’s brother, Walter, will be played by Daniels. Walter returned from the island with telepathic abilities. He can kill someone by causing an aneurysm, create illusions and even trap a person in a “psychic painting” of his creation.
Walter goes by the name Brainwave, but his powers do not effect Sheldon, and vice versa. Their teammate Skyfox wears special earplugs that negate Walter’s powers. As described by Millar, “He isn’t as strong or as handsome as his famous sibling and lacks charisma, but he’s thoughtful and very aware of his legacy as he hits old age.”
Daniels has had a lengthy career, usually as a character actor. He starred as Father Marcus Keane on the TV version of ‘The Exorcist’, and previously appeared on TV shows like ‘Flesh and Bone’, ‘Jamaica Inn’, ‘House of Cards’, ‘The Paradise’, and ‘Law & Order: UK’. He has also starred in films like ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, ‘Luna’, ‘Jack the Giant Slayer’, and ‘Doom’. Most recently he was seen on ‘The Crown’ and ‘Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert’.
Speaking of Skyfox, that character– real name George Hutchence– will be played by ‘Timeless” Matt Lanter. While Sheldon/The Utopian is a Superman analog, and Grace/Lady Liberty is this story’s Wonder Woman, Skyfox is essentially the Batman of the group, although Skyfox actually has powers, including flight and super strength. But like Batman, he is also an engineer who creates various gadgets to utilize in his crimefighting career, and is based out of an underground cavern. He also designed the Supermax prison used to house supervillains. Hutchence is wealthy and funds the exploits of The Union. He is also a playboy and famously dates hundreds of women, although he eventually falls in love with a woman named Sunny.
George and Sheldon were best friends, but suffered a falling out. George eventually falls in with the counterculture which brings him into conflict with his former allies. He sires a son named Hutch, who does not have superpowers.
Lanter is coming off his two-season stint on NBC’s ‘Timeless’ and voices Anakin Skywalker on ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ and other related projects. He has appeared in the film ‘Pitch Perfect 3’, and TV series such as ‘The Astronaut Wives Club’, ‘Star-Crossed’, ‘90210’, ‘Heroes’, and ‘Commander in Chief’.
There are still a few more characters from ‘Jupiter’s Legacy’ that have not been cast, but it remains to be seen just how closely the Netflix adaptation will stick to the source material.
If you’ve read the original comics, what do you think of the casting so far?
Source: CBR
