Aaron Pierre is super excited about stepping into the shoes of John Stewart, the Green Lantern in James Gunn’s highly anticipated DCU series, Lanterns. In recent interviews, Pierre has shared his admiration for the character and his eagerness to bring Stewart to life on screen.
Pierre told Collider, “I’m deeply in love with the character of John Stewart, and so I’m over the moon. I’m so excited to have been gifted the opportunity to serve as this character and bring it to life.”
When speaking with ComicBook.com during a press junket for Mufasa: The Lion King, Pierre expressed how meaningful this project is to him and the entire creative team.
“What I can tell you is that the team are just super, super excited to have this opportunity to bring this story to the people,” he said. “And, so far as I’m concerned, I’m gonna do my very best to serve and honor and elevate in any way I can, John Stewart and the [Green Lantern] Corps. Hopefully, I serve that and it resonates with me.”
When he was first announced as part of the Lanterns cast, Pierre also shared his excitement on Instagram: “Tremendously honoured and abundantly grateful. A dream come true. Thank you all for the love and beautiful energy. Thank you for welcoming me to DC. Let’s work!”
James Gunn Praises Aaron Pierre
James Gunn, co-head of DC Studios, couldn’t be happier with Pierre’s casting who joins Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan. Gunn revealed that Pierre had been on his radar for a while, even coming close to being cast as Adam Warlock in the MCU.
“Aaron Pierre is somebody I’ve wanted to work with for a long time,” Gunn said after the casting news was announced. “He’s an amazing actor, and I’ve just really admired him from the beginning of his career. Seeing him read with Kyle [MacLachlan] was one of those miraculous moments where you go, ‘Oh my God, I don’t care what they’re saying. I just love everything they’re saying together.’”
What We Know About Lanterns
The series, described as True Detective meets the Green Lantern Corps, pairs John Stewart with veteran Hal Jordan. The story will follow the two intergalactic cops as they investigate a dark, Earth-based mystery involving a murder in the American heartland. The show will be a gritty and grounded take on the Green Lantern mythos.
The creative team behind Lanterns includes showrunner Chris Mundy, known for Ozark, alongside writers and producers Damon Lindelof (Watchmen) and Tom King (DC Comics writer). James Hawes (Black Mirror) is slated to direct the first episodes. Gunn called the project “blessed from the beginning,” sharing how the idea for the series developed early on during his time rebooting the DCU.
“It’s a very grounded series, a very real series, which is strange to say in a Green Lantern show, but it’s going to be something like nobody’s ever seen before,” Gunn explained. “I can’t wait for people to catch it on HBO when it comes out.”
