There’s a new girl in town. In Stargirl‘s Season 2 premiere, Courtney got a rude awakening when Jenni-Lynn Hayden snuck into the Whitmore-Dugan house to retrieve her father’s Green Lantern. The two quickly came to blows, but they soon discovered it was all a misunderstanding. As it turned out, Jenni is really, actually Green Lantern’s daughter and, upon inheriting his Green Lantern Corp. ring, felt a pull that brought her right to Courtney’s doorstep. Now, Courtney must contend with a new young superhero who is everything she once thought she was.
Speaking to CBR, Stargirl star Ysa Penarejo offered a glimpse at what’s to come when Jenni gets properly introduced to Courtney’s family, the Justice Society of America and the show’s fans. She explained what makes Jenni “so amazing” and how her public persona hides some very real insecurities. She teased how Jenni’s arrival sends Courtney on an emotional journey and how the other JSA members will react to her. She also broke down Jenni’s big fight scene with Courtney, how she landed the role and more.
CBR: Some superhero roles are secretive to the point that actors don’t find out who they’re really playing until they show up on set. At what point did you learn you’d be playing Green Lantern’s daughter?
Ysa Penarejo: Well, when I first auditioned for the role, it was under a different name. There was a different storyline. So I knew it was for Stargirl, and I’ve always been a fan of Brec [Bassinger]’s, so I have seen a few episodes and I was like, “Oh, this is great! This is cool!”
Once I booked the role and I spoke to Geoff Johns, he revealed to me that, “Oh, you’re playing Jenni-Lynn Hayden, which is also known as Jade.” He went into it a little bit of who she is, and at first, I was just shocked. I was like, “Wow, this is super cool!”
Once he told me, I took some time before I headed out there to shoot everything to sit down with my dad, who is so sweet. My dad, I never have even asked him, but he has always just been one of those people that loves to deep dive into a character’s story and follow where their journey goes. Once I told him, he was like, “Oh, Ysa, we need to sit down and go through this!” We watched videos about it. We looked up online. It was just a whole day of doing my research.
If you had to introduce Jenni to your friends, what would you tell them about her?
Jenni is so sweet. She is so kind and has such a great heart. She’s very independent, too. You’ll see that a little bit as you jump into Jenni’s story more, but she holds herself in a specific way that you’re like, “Wow! She’s so amazing. She’s so great.”
Which aspect of Jenni’s character do you relate to and why?
I would say — not to put out there that I’m always putting a face on — but I think we have our moments, for everyone, where we have a lot on our plate and we’re just trying to get through life and do whatever we need to do, so we’ll just put on that facade. But something that I relate to Jenni — and it was really great at the time, too, that I filmed my scenes, because even though there’s that facade, she definitely still has her insecurities and how she’s feeling at that time. Like I said, when I was filming the scenes, I was feeling that way in my own personal life, so to have that kind of mirror off was cool in a sense, even though it’s not the best feeling. [laughs] So I would say that’s how I relate to her.
Basically the first time we see you, your character has this massive brawl with Courtney, which I imagine took a lot of VFX and stunt work. What did that process look like for you?
So definitely stunt work! There’s a lot of stunt work there. Brec and I, we worked with our coordinator Walter [Garcia], and he was just going through the scene with us and what it looks like. Then he’ll teach us stunt choreography, which I’ve never done any stunts before until this project, but at the same time, it felt very familiar because I’m a dancer, so learning choreography and being very aware of my body and how it like should look on camera and where it needs to go, it was very easy.
My favorite part about the scene was watching the stunts itself because we did definitely have stunt doubles. My stunt double Kira is so amazing and such a hard worker. I think that definitely played a lot, and all of the visual effects came afterwards.
Could you tease how Jenni’s relationship with Courtney develops from there?
Well, you’ll definitely see a lot of interaction between them. I think you’ll definitely see — especially on Courtney’s end — how Jenni makes her feel. In Season 1, we find out that Courtney is not Starman’s daughter, and having that thought play through — to have that come out in the end — was definitely a journey for Courtney. So to have someone come in who is actually the daughter of Green Lantern definitely sparks something up in Courtney.
What was it like to work with Brec Bassinger in this episode?
She’s just such a sweetie. I’ve seen her additions, and I’ve seen her projects that she’ll do, and it’s like, “Wow, she’s so great.” But to actually work with her, she’s just as sweet as Courtney. She has such a great heart, and she’s just so talented, too.
How about the rest of the JSA? Where does she fit in with them?
You’ll seeing in Episode 2, where Jenni definitely not only interacts with Courtney, but working with Pat and also interacting with Barbara and you’ll see her meeting the JSA. They’re excited to see who this new girl is in town.
How would you describe Jenni’s relationship with her dad?
Oh, I would say that there was some interaction but that honestly could have been for just such a short amount of time. She’s been at a group home for a long time, for most of her life. So there might have been a brief moment before she was let go into that group home. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure myself!
What is one moment or scene you cannot wait for Stargirl fans to see in episode 2?
Oh, man! Honestly, I feel like I’m excited for everyone to see all the scenes, or just the episode itself. [laughs] I think there’s such great moments, so it’s hard to pick out which one.
Stargirl Season 2 airs Tuesdays at 8 pm ET/PT on The CW.
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