‘Superman’ Star Nathan Fillion Joins HBO’s ‘Lanterns’ as Guy GardnerGardner

Superman will mark the big-screen debut of the Green Lantern everyone loves to hate, Guy Gardner, played by Nathan Fillion, but he is already set to make his DCU return. HBO’s Lanterns, an earth-found drama that shares DNA with True Detective, will feature several iconic members of the Green Lantern Corps, including DC’s resident “jerk.”

As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Superman star Nathan Fillion will indeed appear in HBO’s upcoming superhero series, Lanterns, as Guy Gardner. He joins fellow Power Ring bearers, Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler, who play John Stewart and Hal Jordan, respectively. It’s unclear how significant Fillion’s role as Gardner will be, but his presence on the HBO show has long been rumored. The series will be a grounded departure from the 2011 movie adaptation, while still retaining the sci-fi elements fans are familiar with from the comics.

In a previous interview, Fillion confirmed that his performance as Guy Gardner in Superman will maintain the character’s detestable qualities. Yes, there is no question that he is one of the most effective Green Lanterns there are, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t hard to like sometimes. Like the source material, the DCU version of Gardner is an overconfident “jerk” who probably thinks he could take on David Corenswet’s Superman. On that front, our money is on the Kryptonian.

“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. 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. That’s what you do in that moment. I think if he has a superpower, it might be his overconfidence, in that he thinks he could take on Superman. He can’t!”

‘Lanterns’ Director Teases DCU Show’s Unique Tone

During an interview with Collider, Lanterns director James Hawes (Slow Horses) discussed the show’s grounded tone, surprising humor, and how it retains the “sci-fi” vibe of the source material. Like his previous directorial efforts, Hawes teases that the Green Lantern show is enriched with “a rich vein of humor running through it.” For those familiar with his work, it may be shocking to hear he was drawn to the Lanterns material, and the filmmaker himself acknowledges that. “Superheroes are not somewhere I’ve really played before, but it’s created in such a way—and I can’t tell you much—that it bewitched me,” Hawes stated.

Fans worried Lanterns would jettison every fantastical element from the comics can rest assured that the series doesn’t “lack its sci-fi magic.” However, it’s done in a way that sounds more subtle than what most might expect live-action Green Lantern adaptations would do.

“It doesn’t lack its sci-fi magic, but it’s done in a world where you accept that these things just are. They don’t need that extra sprinkle of sci-fi fairy dust. It works within a physical world that we’ve come to know.”