How Carrie Fisher's memoir inspired Mark Millar to write the superhero series Jupiter's Legacy

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Exclusive: Carrie Fisher was a source of inspiration for Jupiter's Legacy

Jupiter's Legacy
(Image credit: Netflix)

Jupiter's Legacy, a brand new superhero TV show, is arriving on Netflix soon. Based on the comic series penned by Mark Millar and illustrated by Frank Quitely, Jupiter's Legacy is the first TV project stemming from Netflix's 2017 acquisition of Millarworld Limited and all its properties. The ambitious saga chronicles a generation of superheroes, beginning in the Roaring '20s when they acquired their powers and banded together to form the super-squad the Union of Justice. 

As for how the idea came together, Millar explains to our sister publication SFX Magazine that a Star Wars actor was a big influence.

"The idea came to me when I read Carrie Fisher's memoirs," Millar says. "She was talking about how even though she was Princess Leia, and everyone loves Carrie Fisher, she never thought that she really was special because her mum and dad [actor Debbie Reynolds and singer Eddie Fisher] were two of the most famous people on the planet. That really stayed with me. I thought, 'Even Princess Leia feels the sense of not living up to her parents.' So I just incorporated that."

The six founding members of the super-team comprise Sheldon Sampson/Utopian (Josh Duhamel), his wife Grace/Lady Liberty (Leslie Bibb), his brother Walter/Brainwave (Ben Daniels), his best friend George Hutchence/Skyfox (Matt Lanter), Richard Conrad/Blue Bolt (David Julian Hirsh) and Fitz Small/The Flare (Mike Wade). Tensions arise when Sheldon and Grace seek to pass on their crimefighting duties to their children, Brandon (Andrew Horton) and Chloe (Elena Kampouris). However, the siblings want nothing to do with the betterment of mankind, having cracked under the weight of following in their parents' footsteps and the daunting expectations placed upon them. 

"Brandon and Chloe seem to have everything, but they have pressures unlike anyone else in the world," Millar continues. "Brandon wants to be his dad and he knows he can never match up, which is soul-destroying for him. Chloe doesn't even try. She buckles under the pressure and just gets lost in drugs and alcohol. She was the one her dad believed in most, but she thinks he's ridiculous."

You can check out the full interview with Millar and the cast of Jupiter's Legacy in the current issue of SFX Magazine, which features the superhero show on the cover. Jupiter's Legacy arrives on Netflix May 7, 2021. For more from SFX, make sure to sign up to our newsletter, sending all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox.

Bryan Cairns
Freelance Writer

Bryan is a freelance writer who contributes regularly to SFX, along with ET Canada, Sci-Fi Magazine, SYFY Wire, Scream Magazine, CBR, and more. He's a sci-fi expert in the movie and TV space, and also has a great knowledge of comics.