The DC Universe series Stargirl just added some Hollywood star wattage to its cast: Luke Wilson is on board to portray mechanic-turned-superhero Pat Dugan, who pilots Stripe, a hulking 15-foot robot of his own invention.

The star of Old School, Legally Blonde and The Royal Tenebaums joins a cast led by young Brec Bassinger of Nickelodeon’s Bella & the Bulldogs in the title role of a high school student who inherits the cosmic device of a long-gone superhero. Also in the ensemble: Lou Ferrigno Jr. as Rex Tyler/Hourman, Brian Stapf as Ted Grant/Wildcat, Henry Thomas as Charles McNider/Dr Mid-Nite and Anjelika Washington in an undisclosed role.

Showrunner Geoff Johns, who created Stargirl while writing for DC Comics in the late 1990s, described the casting coup in terms that made it sound as if it was written in the stars.

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“When I first moved to Los Angeles in 1996 and saw Bottle Rocket, I became a huge fan and admirer of Luke’s,” Johns said “And I literally wrote this part for Luke, hoping that someday and somehow he’d play Pat Dugan. I onlyenvisioned him. And now I feel like I won the lottery! Luke’s talent, humor, compassion — his presence and professionalism — and his creative collaboration, his ideas — we’re so lucky to have him alongside Brec in Stargirl.”

DC Entertainment

The show’s official description of Wilson’s character: “Pat Dugan once went by the less-than-inspired superhero name of Stripesy, sidekick to a young hero known as the Star-Spangled-Kid and later Starman of the legendary Justice Society of America. Today, Pat has left his sidekick life behind him. But when his new step-daughter, Courtney Whitmore, discovers Pat’s secret past and takes on Starman’s legacy to become Stargirl, Pat is forced to come out of retirement and once again become a sidekick — to his step-daughter — this time piloting a 15-foot robot called Stripe.”

Greg Berlanti, Geoff Johns, Sarah Schechter and Melissa Carter are executive producers of Stargirl, which is based on the DC character created by Johns. The series is produced by Berlanti Productions and Mad Ghost Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. Johns is writing the first episode and will serve as showrunner. No official release date has been announced.

Wilson can also be seen in several upcoming films, among them The Goldfinch, directed by John Crowley and opposite Ansel Elgort and Atom Egoyan’s Guest of Hounour. He also has roles inan all-star anthology feature called Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley and Mickey Rourke and a ribald comedy called In the Swing of Things.

Wilson is represented by CAA.

Stargirl shares its title with an upcoming Disney+ movie. That production adapts the novel by Jerry Spinelli and stars singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal in the title role of Stargirl Caraway, a non-conforming newcomer who shakes up an Arizona high school campus.