‘The Boys’ Star’s Forgotten Marvel Role Officially Rewrote the MCU Formula [Exclusive]

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Published Sep 3, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT

Earlier this year, The Boys fans said goodbye to the hit Prime Video superhero series, which officially aired its last episode on May 20. The franchise is set to return next year in the form of Vought Rising, the new spin-off starring Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy and Aya Cash as Stormfront. The first Boys spin-off, Gen V, was canceled after only two seasons, but its characters were involved in the final season of The Boys, albeit not as much as some fans were expecting. Still, even after Vought Rising Season 1, it would be surprising if Prime Video and creator Eric Kripke didn’t have bigger plans for the franchise, especially after it’s become so popular in the last seven years.

There were plenty of stars to have key roles across all five seasons of The Boys, but few had as much impact as Erin Moriarty with her commanding performance as Starlight. Moriarty featured prominently in every season of The Boys from the first episode to the series finale, but what most fans might not remember is that it wasn’t her first superhero role. Moriarty first played Hope Shlottman in seven episodes of Jessica Jones, the Netflix Marvel show that ran for three seasons between 2015 and 2019. Moriarty’s character dies in the first season of Jessica Jones by taking her own life in a scene that’s still remembered as one of the most brutal and tragic deaths in Marvel history.

Collider’s Maggie Lovitt recently moderated a panel for Moriarty and Catherine Bell at FAN EXPO Canada last weekend, and she asked Moriarty what it meant to carry a role like that with her, especially one that’s had so much impact with fans over the years. “It’s funny — when I play a role, I’m very present with it in the moment, but I don’t watch it again after. It’s been so long since I played Hope. That was such an interesting character for me, because Jessica Jones and The Boys are actually pretty similar in some ways**,” she said. “They’re both very dark, and neither one is afraid to explore taboo subject matter.” Moriarty then spoke about the similarities between Hope and Annie, and how it felt to join the Marvel universe as a character that had gone through such dark things:

“Hope Shlottman goes through a lot of the same things Annie does — consent, what she goes through with Kilgrave, sexual abuse, being incarcerated for things she did while being controlled. And the way she dies is really traumatic. I remember leaving that role behind and just thinking how cool it was that I got to play something that dark and complex within the Marvel world, and how the Marvel world was clearly evolving if there was room for a character like that.”

Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.

You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.

You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.

Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.

You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.

Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.

You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.

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