Posted in: HBO, Movies, TV | Tagged: dc studios, green lantern, lanterns

Lanterns Star Aaron Pierre Credits "JLU" for Early John Stewart Intro

HBO & DC Studios' Lanterns star Aaron Pierre is giving credit to the DC Animated Universe for one of his first introductions to John Stewart.

After getting some big updates from DC Studios co-CEO and writer/director James Gunn on the series, series star Aaron Pierre (John Stewart) has been kind enough to share some thoughts regarding Chris Mundy (True Detective: Night Country, Ozark), Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, The Leftovers), and Tom King's (Mister Miracle, Supergirl) Pierre and Kyle Chandler (Hal Jordan)-starring Green Lanterns series Lanterns. In particular, Pierre has done a nice job of driving home the point that he's putting in the work to make sure that he does right by John Stewart. Speaking exclusively with EW, Pierre revealed one of the first times he was introduced to the Green Lantern universe – and it had nothing to do with Ryan Reynolds. Think animated…

After sharing that he hadn't watched Reynold's big-screen effort (but he plans to), Pierre credited the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) for opening the door to getting to know what John Stewart was all about. "I think 'Justice League Unlimited' might have been one of my first introductions to John Stewart," Pierre explained. As animation fans know, Justice League ran from 2001 to 2004, followed by Justice League Unlimited, which ran from 2004 to 2006. Both series were set in the DCAU, alongside such iconic series as Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series. For his part, Pierre is finding the experience "exciting," adding that the cast, creative team, and production crew "can't wait to get to work." Along with Pierre and Chandler, the HBO series also stars Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire, In the Line of Duty), Garret Dillahunt (Fear The Walking Dead), and Poorna Jagannathan (Never Have I Ever, Deli Boys).

Lanterns: A Look Back at Some Things We Know So Far…

"I don't want to give away all that stuff, but I think it's grounded just like, you know if Green Lanterns were real, what the fuck would they be and how would they be, you know?" Gunn shared when asked to explain what he and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran meant when they described the series as "grounded" during his one-on-one with Josh Horowitz for the Happy Sad Confused podcast. For those taking issue with the series being described as "terrestrial," Gunn argued that the description is more than appropriate "because it's on Earth; the story takes place on Earth."

While Hal and John are still space-faring heroes, the story being told in Lanterns is Earth-bound – with Gunn adding that scenario is like "most Green Lantern stories." That means "it's not in outer space," and there won't be "a thousand Green Lanterns." Gunn continued, "It's a grounded story that's being told through another lens in a way that's really commensurate. You know it's an HBO series – and it's going to be an HBO series, and I'm happy with that, and I love the scripts." You can check out the segment at around the 32:50 mark in the episode below.

"Finally can talk about what I've been working on for the past year and more. From DC Studios and Warner Bros, we're bringing 'Lanterns' to HBO," King began his Instagram post from June, addressing the news much more openly than he could previously – even after Gunn confirmed that he would be working on the series. "Chris, Damon, and I created it; Chris is writing and running it while Damon and I write and executive produce. I like to think of it as from the creators of 'Ozark,' HBO's 'Watchmen,' and, of course, Batman meets Elmer Fudd."

He continued, "We're working with a dream team writer's room, putting together something thrilling and epic and intimate and grounded and funny and true—a superhero show that brings together the glories of the comics with the excellence of an HBO prestige drama. It's such an honor to work on these characters, to build on what titans John Broome, Gil Kane, Denny O'Neil, and my old pal (and Batman/Fudd fan), Neal Adams created. We're endlessly inspired by and grateful for the creativity of so many Lantern comic creators from 1940 to this Wednesday." Before closing, King added a personal perspective to the news: "On a personal level, my late mother was a Warner exec: being back on her lot, building something cool that she'd love—it feels real special."

When the series was first announced, Safran noted that the series would play a major role in their New DCU. Comparing it to "a huge HBO-quality event" along the lines of "True Detective," the "Green Lantern" series is set to focus on Hal Jordan and John Stewart – who investigate a mystery that DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran said during the initial rollout "plays a really big role leading us into the main story that we're telling across our film and television. So this is a very important show for us." James Hawes (Slow Horses, Penny Dreadful) has been tapped to helm the opening chapters of the series.

Noting that Lanterns and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow would most likely be coming out at "around the same time" (which could mean around the beginning to middle of 2026), Gunn added that "we're getting ready to go" regarding production on the Green Lanterns series. After jokingly acting shocked that fans would have an opinion on casting, Gunn had some strong praise for not just the actors but also the creative team and what Gunn has seen so far during an interview earlier this month with IGN.

"The truth is Chris [Mundy] and Tom [King] and Damon [Lindelof] wrote an amazing series, like an incredible series. I'm so excited for people to see this. It's very grounded, very believable, very real. The kind of things that you would never think that would be the truth about a Green Lanterns television series. And very human, adult, and wonderful. And the story that they wrote fit a couple of actors who were of these ages and so that's who they cast. Those were their choices. I totally backed them up. I love them," Gunn shared about the HBO series. "So I'm really excited for people to see what those guys have come up with. But everything is to serve the story. The story is always first. The scripts are always first. And we would never be making this show if Chris and the guys hadn't turned in wonderful, beautiful scripts."

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