James Gunn’s DCU Finds Its John Stewart, Lanterns Casting Decision Officially Set

The DC Universe has officially found its John Stewart, with James Gunn announcing that Aaron Pierre will join the HBO series Lanterns as John Stewart.

Casting had reportedly come down to both Pierre and Stephan James, with the Rebel Ridge star ultimately being chosen to play the iconic character. In a statement on the move on social media, Gunn welcomed Pierre to the fold, saying that he’s “absolutely sure” they’ve found an incredible John Stewart after what he calls a series of grueling auditions.

Pierre is coming off of a starring role in 2024’s Rebel Ridge, a Netflix action movie that garnered massive praise, specifically for his performance. Pierre is also set to star as Mufasa in 2024’s Mufasa: The Lion King, and also starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s 2021 thriller Old.

What do we know about Lanterns?

Pierre will star in the series alongside Kyle Chandler, who has been cast in the series as Hal Jordan in the upcoming series. A separate report from THR notes that HBO is looking to begin filming from January to June next year, so more information should come soon.

Lanterns will be executive produced by Chris Mundy (True Detective: Night Country, Ozark), Damon Lindelof (The Leftovers, Watchmen), and Tom King (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow), with the latter two also co-writing the series. It received an official straight-to-series-order at HBO last June 2024, more than a year since the 8-episode project was first announced back in January 2023.

“The series 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 synopsis for the show reads.