Lanterns Casts Aaron Pierre as John Stewart

Aaron Pierre, the star of Netflix’s Insurgent Ridge, has nabbed the plum a part of Inexperienced Lantern John Stewart in DC Studios’ and HBO’s much-ballyhooed collection Lanterns.

The casting caps one of many extra scrutinized actor searches in a while. Not solely is the present the primary main TV endeavor from DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, however the position of Stewart carries a lot significance, because the fan-favorite comedian e book character was considered one of DC’s first Black superheroes.

The extraordinary casting course of got here right down to Pierre and Stephan James, who’s on the pageant circuit with drama The Piano Lesson and who starred within the 2016 Jesse Owens biopic Race. Each participated in display screen checks, with the actors squaring off in opposition to the already forged Kyle Chandler on Thursday and Friday. Every actor had their boosters, however the last choice was made Tuesday.

Pierre positively brings warmth to the present, because the actor has over the course of some months gone to the highest of casting lists. His main flip in Jeremy Saulnier’s Insurgent Ridge debuted on Netflix on Sept. 6 and was the primary title worldwide on Netflix for 3 weeks in a row.

The actor already has had a brush with the comedian e book realm. He as soon as was forged reverse Mahershala Ali in Marvel Studios’ Blade, however the model of the long-delayed film morphed, and he won’t be concerned going ahead. He additionally appeared in M. Night time Shyamalan’s Outdated, an adaptation of a graphic novel.

Lanterns is alleged to have a gritty, True Detective vibe and follows Hal Jordan, a legend amongst the area police drive often called the Inexperienced Lanterns, as he reluctantly mentors Stewart, a youthful Inexperienced Lantern. The 2 intergalactic cops get drawn right into a darkish, Earth-based thriller as they examine a homicide within the American heartland. 

Chandler, a TV veteran due to acclaimed turns in Friday Night time Lights and Bloodline, is ready to star as Jordan.

James Hawes, a longtime TV helmer who most not too long ago directed a string of episodes of the Gary Oldman spy collection Gradual Horses, has been tapped to helm the primary two episodes of the sci-fi cop collection.

Lanterns has a straight-to-series order at HBO and comes from high-pedigreed creators. Chris Mundy (Ozark), Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, Misplaced) and Eisner Award-winning comedian e book author Tom King are govt producing and writing, with Mundy showrunning what’s deliberate as an eight-episode season. Hawes additionally joins the drive as an exec producer.

Author Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams launched Stewart in 1971’s Inexperienced Lantern No. 87, 12 years after Hal Jordan and the bigger Inexperienced Lantern Corps mythos arrived on the scene.

Pierre was not too long ago seen main the NatGeo collection Genius: MLK/X, portraying civil rights chief Malcolm X, Garth Davis’ 2023 sci-fi drama Foe alongside Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan, Clement Virgo’s Brother and Barry Jenkins’ award-winning restricted collection The Underground Railroad. In December, Pierre takes on the titular position of Mufasa in Barry Jenkins’ CG-animated Lion King prequel for Disney.  

Pierre is repped by WME, Nameless Content material, Hamilton Hodell, and Sloane Supply.