The Sky High Cast Has Gone On To More Superhero And Sci-Fi Glory
Before MCU and DCEU supremacy took hold, the superhero movie landscape was a very different place. Brightly lit scenes and technicolor costumes weren't yet a thing of the past (hi, "Batman & Robin), and an anthropomorphized duck named Howard was a perfectly suitable hero. The aughts produced some standalone gems that weren't beholden to a universe (or, shall we say, multiverse) of preexisting IP, like "Unbreakable" and "Kick-Ass."
One one-off hit was 2005's "Sky High," whose charming premise of a high school intended for the children of superheroes has earned it a cult following. "Sky High" may have been family-friendly fare, but it was just as entertaining for adults. For one, the film's adult cast members were sci-fi and superhero legends. Kurt Russell is known for his roles in "Escape from New York" and "The Thing." Even Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter, appeared as Principal Powers.
In the years since its release, "Sky High" has proven to be a breeding ground for more sci-fi and superhero stars.
Sky High's cast members have become MCU and Arrowverse regulars
The young stars of "Sky High" couldn't have anticipated that the movie would be among the first of their several sci-fi and superhero-centric projects. In "Sky High," Danielle Panabaker plays Layla, a sidekick with an aptitude for controlling plant life. Panabaker would return to her superhero roots in "The Flash," where she plays Dr. Caitlin Snow, a scientist at Star Labs who eventually transforms into her alter ego Killer Frost. Panabaker has portrayed the character (or some iteration of the character) since 2014, and has thus appeared in other Arrowverse series like "Supergirl," "Arrow," and "DC's Legends of Tomorrow."
Another "Sky High" star to stick to the genre is Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who starred as the villainous Royal Pain. In 2010, Winstead starred in another colorful cult favorite, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," and has since made a name for herself in big-budget sci-fi films like the 2011 remake of "The Thing" and "10 Cloverfield Lane." In 2020, she caught the DCEU bug with the "Suicide Squad" spin-off "Birds of Prey."
"Sky High" wasn't just a jumping-off point for its younger actors. Some of the veteran stars have also gone on to work within the superhero genre. Bruce Campbell, who's best known for his work in the "Evil Dead" franchise, had cameos in all three of Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" films, and in 2022, he collaborated with Raimi once again in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" as the Pizza Papa. Kurt Russell, too, would crop up in the MCU, albeit in a more official capacity. The actor starred as Ego in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2" and reprised the role in the animated series "What If...?"