“In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, beware my power, Green Lantern’s light.” These are words that Nathon Fillion’s Guy Gardner character will probably not say in DC Studios’ Green Lanterns superhero show “Lanterns,” but maybe his two comrades might. That’s right, Fillion, who has already shot his Green Lantern part in this summer’s “Superman” from director James Gunn, will also reprise that same role in the upcoming “Lanterns” series from showrunner Chris Mundy wrote the pilot with producers Damon Lindelof and Tom King.
“Lanterns” stars Aaron Pierre (“Rebel Ridge”) as John Stewart and Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights,” “Bloodline”) as Hal Jordan.
READ MORE: ‘Lanterns’: James Gunn Shares Gritty & Grounded First Look At Aaron Pierre & Kyle Chandler As DC’s Green Lanterns
Gunn, who co-heads DC Studios with Peter Safran, initially teased that “a few other Lanterns” would be “peppered in there” in 2023 when the show was first announced, and now we know at least one Lantern’s identity.
In the comics, Gardner is basically a huge colossal, macho jackass who generally gets on the nerves of other heroes (in the 90s Justice League International series, he runs afoul of Batman, who punches him out several times).
“He’s a jerk! What’s important to know is, you don’t have to be good to be a Green Lantern; you just have to be fearless,” Fillion told TV Guide earlier this year, describing his character. “So Guy Gardner is fearless, and he is not very good. He’s not nice, which is very freeing as an actor because you just think to yourself, what is the most selfish, self-serving thing I can do in this moment? And that’s the answer.”
“I think if he has a superpower,” Fillion continued, “it might be his overconfidence, in that he thinks he could take on Superman. He can’t!”
No doubt, Gardner will butt heads with Chandler and Pierre’s more traditional Lantern characters. The series is said to be much more grounded than the space opera Green Lantern of the notorious Ryan Reynolds-led flop of 2011. This series, modeled after “True Detective” (Mundy was a writer on the show, this tracks), centers on Jordan and Stewart investigating a murder on Earth, trying to keep a low profile and not trying to bring attention to their powers.
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The series also stars Kelly Macdonald as a sheriff who is also Jordan’s love interest, Garrett Dillahunt as a “self-righteous, conspiracy-minded man who masks his ruthless ambition behind a charming and calculated façade,” Jason Ritter as Billy Macon Poorna Jagannathan as Zoe, a rumored love interest for John Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, a rogue former member of the Green Lantern Corps.
Fillion’s part in “Superman” is said to be small, and presumably, his “Lanterns” role won’t be huge either. The series is expected to air in the summer of 2026 on HBO/MAX.[via EW]