The Shadowhunters panel at New York Comic Con was full of juicy news: from a devastatingly far-off premiere date to the promise of new story arcs for our faves and some wonderfully surprisingly casting news – namely the recruitment of Broadway star and self-proclaimed Shadowhunters fan Javier Muñoz! Are you as excited as we are? If you’re not familiar with him or his involvement in the show, look no further. Here are just a few of the reasons we’re so thrilled about Javier Muñoz joining the cast of Shadowhunters!
1. He’s Broadway Royalty
Here is a little background for those of you who have been living under a rock. Hamilton is a multi-award-winning Broadway musical about the life of one of the U.S.A.’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton. It is also performed almost entirely in rap. Muñoz has recently taken up the starring role from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show’s creator. Javier Muñoz is best known to the Broadway world as the “Sexy Hamilton,” for his particular style on stage. Now, the man into whose very deserving hands the titular role was passed into, and who is currently keeping that show bright, beating, and a constant beacon of art, is to guest star in Season 3 of our beloved Shadowhunters. We could not be anticipating this more.
2. He’s a Big Shadowhunters Fan. Really.
When we first heard that Javier Muñoz was a fan of Shadowhunters, we thought that perhaps, once upon a time, the man had simply sent a complimentary tweet out into the world (people do tend to exaggerate and all that). But oh, were we ever wrong. This man is – dare we say – a fanboy. We’re talking crying emoji at the most emotional scenes here. Reveling in all of the Magnus and Malec hype. And catching up by binging the show in his very, very limited free time. Muñoz is living the Shadowhunters fandom dream – a raving fan that actually gets to be in one of their favorite shows. We cannot wait to see that enthusiasm and excitement jumping off the screen. Don’t quite believe us? Check out some of his tweets about Shadowhunters:
“Come back, come back; please come back.” – Malec@ShadowhuntersTV #ImNotCryingYoureCrying
— Javier Muñoz (@JMunozActor) January 19, 2017
“If you fail to make time for the things you care about, you’ll forget why you’re even fighting at all.”-Magnus @ShadowhuntersTV
— Javier Muñoz (@JMunozActor) February 10, 2017
.@ShadowhuntersTV how do I love thee…
Let me count the ways….— Javier Muñoz (@JMunozActor) March 4, 2017
When its my last night of vacation & binging @ShadowhuntersTV makes me question my heart in multiple ways..😩😩😩
(Fave show right now)— Javier Muñoz (@JMunozActor) July 31, 2017
Yup….up late binging season 2 of @ShadowhuntersTV
Ya caught me….❤️❤️❤️❤️— Javier Muñoz (@JMunozActor) August 29, 2017
3. He’s a Survivor Advocating Openness
Javier Muñoz is a man standing up against the stigmas that come with life-threatening diagnoses and prevent people from getting the information and treatment they need to get healthy and stay healthy. Muñoz lives loudly about being both HIV positive and a cancer survivor. Outspokenly advocating openness about matters like HIV statuses and health diagnoses without fear or shame is the first step in finding both help and increasing prevention. Muñoz takes the time to address these important issues every time they come up in interviews and public venues. He is also particularly invested in eradicating stigma and has partnered with Stomp Out Bullying, an organization working toward the prevention of all kinds of bullying towards kids and teenagers – which Shadowhunters’ own Kat McNamara supports as well! He’s also a winner of GMHC’s Howard Ashman Award, given to those in the Broadway community whose activism and visibility has had a positive impact in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the stigma associated with being HIV positive.
4. He Brings On-Screen Representation to Multiple Communities
We already love Shadowhunters for their genuinely diverse and inclusive casting efforts and we are so excited to get more representation on-screen! Muñoz will be joining an already diverse cast of actors which includes the likes of Harry Shum Jr., Isaiah Mustafa, Alisha Wainwright, Emeraude Toubia, Alberto Rosende (not to mention supporting cast members like David Castro and Kevin Alves), all of whom bring to life the many-splendored characters of the Shadow World. A New Yorker born to Puerto Rican parents, Muñoz is also an out and very proud gay man. To have so much talent incarnated in someone that people in the Latinx community, the LGBTQ+ and especially the Latinx LGBTQ+ community can look up to is an absolute joy.
5. He’s Playing a Brand-New Downworlder Character
There has been a lot of admiration about the show’s departure from its literary source material, making left turns in plot lines and exploring these characters in novel ways. We’ve also been able to enjoy quite a few show-original characters, like Lydia Branwell, the not-so-beloved Victor Aldertree, and everyone’s favorite baby warlock, Madzie. We love new characters, especially when we know so little about them that we have lots of room to be surprised! We know very little about Lorenzo Rey, the character that Muñoz will be portraying. What we do know is that he is a warlock who will be at odds with our magnificent Magnus Bane. It sure sounds like the character will be an antagonist, though we’re not yet sure how big a baddie he might be. Is he an ex-lover? Someone who has set their eyes on Alec? An old friend with some philosophical differences? A rival trying to encroach on Magnus’ Brooklyn territory? Regardless, we are itching to find out! What we are absolutely certain of is that we’re so delighted to welcome Javier to our Shadowhunters family!
If you haven’t already, go give Javier a warm welcome to the Shadow World! Are you excited for his casting? Come scream with us about it over on Twitter!
Shadowhunters is available for streaming via Freeform for U.S. residents and internationally on Netflix. Shadowhunters returns with Season 3 on April 3rd, 2018.
