It was just over a week ago that the first trailer for the new HBO series Lanterns arrived online, and while the preview didn't exactly make a big deal out of the show's ties to the larger DC Universe, we now have casting news that is providing that service. James Gunn's Man Of Tomorrow, the direct sequel to his 2025 Superman blockbuster, is now getting deep into pre-production, and today we have word that the film will include Aaron Pierre's John Stewart a.k.a. Green Lantern as part of its ensemble.
This update comes to us via THR, though the trade doesn't have any details regarding the size of his role in the plot (which is certainly not a surprise at this stage in the game). He is the second newcomer to join the anticipated feature, as we learned late last year that German actor Lars Eidinger has been cast as the villainous Brainiac. Man Of Tomorrow will see David Corenswet return to the role of Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman along with Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl and Maria Gabriella de Faria as The Engineer.
This is an interesting development for the Green Lantern Corps of the DC Universe, as you'll notice that one name not included in the Man of Tomorrow cast yet is Nathan Fillion, who memorably played Guy Gardner in Superman. Fillion reprised his role in the first episode of Peacemaker Season 2, but he was noticeably absent from the aforementioned Lanterns trailer, which features a scene in which Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan makes mention of the fact that he has never met another human Green Lantern. The relationship between Gardner and his fellow emerald knights hasn't been made clear yet and will be a development to keep an eye on
Likewise, it will be interesting to see what this casting ultimately means for the density of DC Studio's continuity. Does Aaron Pierre's presence in Man Of Tomorrow mean that there is going to be any kind of direct link between the stories in Lanterns and the 2027 film? Are people going to need to watch the former to be fully up to speed and ready to watch the latter? Right now, we have far more questions than answers.
Man of Tomorrow is presently in pre-production and getting ready to get cameras rolling next month, so it's very likely that we will be getting a bunch of updates about the project in the coming weeks,which will also hopefully mean getting further clarity about what we can expect from the film. The blockbuster has been given a July 9, 2027 release date – making it the fourth DCU movie following Superman and the upcoming DC titles Supergirl (June 26) and Clayface (October 23). Lanterns, meanwhile, will debut sometime in August on HBO, and it will likely earn some extra attention now that we know one of its leads is set up for a significant part in the future of the canon.