Aaron Pierre has commented on playing the DC hero John Stewart in HBO’s Lanterns. Yesterday, HBO confirmed that Lanterns will see Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre portraying the Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart, respectively. Lanterns is one of the many projects in James Gunn’s new DC Universe, with Gunn’s Superman as the big headliner of 2025. Who would be playing Hal Jordan and John Stewart in Lanterns has been a heavily reported topic in recent weeks, with names such as Josh Brolin and Stephan James up for the roles. Pierre joins Lanterns following his starring role in Netflix’s Rebel Ridge, and it sounds like he’s ready to get to work.
“Tremendously honoured and abundantly grateful. A dream come true,” Aaron Pierre wrote on Instagram following the news of his John Stewart casting. “Thank you all for the love and beautiful energy. Thank you for welcoming me to DC. Let’s work!” He also shared an image of John Stewart from the Justice League animated series, along with one of his headshots. The official DC account, James Gunn, and Tom King, who is a writer on Lanterns, all commented on the post to show their support.
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Gunn made a similar post on Instagram to celebrate Kyle Chandler on landing the Hal Jordan gig. “Welcome to the DCU, Kyle Chandler!” Gunn’s post reads. “Now our Hal Jordan in #Lanterns.”
Aaron Pierre currently stars as the lead in Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge, which debuted on Netflix on September 6th and was the #1 title worldwide on Netflix for three weeks in a row. In December, Pierre will take on the titular role of Mufasa in Barry Jenkins’ animated Lion King prequel for Disney.
“Interestingly, I think — I only wrapped Mufasa this year and we’ve been doing that for a good few years now,” Pierre told ComicBook. “I think in a way, similar to life, your life experiences inform your future life experiences. Similarly, the opportunities that you’re gifted as an actor, as an artist, what you learn and what you harnessed from one job, you take those lessons that you absorbed and you bring them to the next thing to hopefully enhance your capability to bring something to life.”
Pierre was most recently seen leading the NatGeo series Genius: MLK/X, as civil rights leader Malcolm X, Garth Davis’ Foe alongside Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan, Clement Virgo’s Brother and Barry Jenkins’ award-winning limited series The Underground Railroad. He is currently filming The Morning Show.
What is DC and HBO’s Lanterns about?
Lanterns follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland. The Green Lantern show has been compared to True Detective as far as the vibe that the creatives are going for.
Chris Mundy (Ozark, True Detective: Night Country) is the showrunner for Lanterns, with Mundy co-writing alongside Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, The Leftovers), and DC comic writer Tom King. King is an Eisner Award winner for his work on Batman and Mister Miracle, and his Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is being adapted into a feature film starring Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon).
“We are elated to be reuniting with both Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof as they partner with Tom for this fresh take on DC’s ‘Green Lantern,’” Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content, said in a statement when Lanterns was officially greenlit. “As part of James and Peter’s vision for the DC Universe, this first new live action series will mark an exciting new era.”
