Exclusive: Josh Duhamel talks superhero & moral challenges in Jupiter's Legacy
Now playing on Netflix is the superhero series Jupiter’s Legacy, based on Mark Millar and Frank Quitely’s comic book series and starring Josh Duhamel.
Jupiter’s Legacy spans from the 1930s through to the present day and is based around the first generation of Superheroes, who rose to prominence after receiving their powers. Fast forward to the present day, the original heroes are revered as the elder guard, while the children of the fabled heroes are struggling to live up to their parent’s legacy and legendary feats.
The series stars Josh Duhamel as Sheldon Sampson/The Utopian, Ben Daniels as Walter Sampson/Brainwave, Leslie Bibb as Grace Sampson/Lady Liberty, Elena Kampouris as Chloe Sampson, Andrew Horton as Brandon Sampson/Paragon, Mike Wade as Fitz Small, Tenika Davis as Petra / The Flare II, and Matt Lanter as George Hutchene/Skyfox.
The comic book series was first published by Image Comics in 2013. It followed The Utopian and Lady Liberty, who are the costumed aliases of Sheldon and Grace Sampson. After venturing to a mysterious island with a handful of their friends in 1932, they gained superhuman abilities and established themselves as the first generation of superheroes. They soon formed the Union of Justice. Years later, Sheldon and Grace had two children, Chloe and Brandon, who inherited their own set of powers. However, Chloe and Brandon also developed a cynical attitude toward superheroes and struggled to find their places in the shadow of their famous parents.
For Duhamel, having played a soldier who saved lives in four of the five Transformers films, he finally gets to play a superhero who does the same thing, but he has powers and lives by a code. In speaking with BlackFilmandTV.com’s Wilson Morales, Duhamel goes over his character and the moral code superheroes are challenged with.
