Two of the DC Cinematic Universe's (DCU) most anticipated shows just received some big cast updates – and one has particularly caught the attention of DC fans.
Yesterday (October 9) was certainly a big day for James Gunn's and Peter Safran's rebooted comic book-inspired cinematic universe, with news surrounding the cast of two exciting Max shows receiving significant cast upgrades. The first of those concerns Lanterns, the forthcoming Green Lanterns TV show that Gunn has previously described as an intergalactic take on one of the best Max shows in True Detective.
Until now, nobody had been cast in the upcoming superhero series but, in recent days, rumors have swirled online that Kyle Chandler (Godzilla: King of the Monsters), and either Rebel Ridge's Aaron Pierre or Homecoming's Stephan James, were being eyed for Lanterns' lead roles. Well, it turns out that the gossip mill was actually right this time, with Chandler and, after a "long and grueling set of auditions", according to Gunn on X/Twitter, Pierre being hired for the DCU Chapter One project.
Meet your #Lanterns. Aaron Pierre is John Stewart and Kyle Chandler is Hal Jordan in the new HBO Original Series from DC Studios coming soon to Max. pic.twitter.com/bXbU9l4PjsOctober 9, 2024
As this article's headline and the above tweet confirm, Chandler and Pierre will play iconic Green Lantern characters in Hal Jordan and John Stewart in Lanterns. Alan Scott and Guy Gardner – the latter will also appear in Lanterns, where he'll be played by frequent Gunn collaborator Nathan Fillion – notwithstanding, Jordan and Stewart are the most famous and popular members of the Green Lantern Corps, so Gunn and company had to get their casting right.
In my view, they've done so, too. A veteran of the big and small screen, Chandler is an ideal candidate to play the experienced, older head of Lanterns' pairing. Jordan was previously played by A-lister Ryan Reynolds in 2011's Green Lantern film, which was a critical and commercial dud. Meanwhile, Pierre, who recently wowed fans and critics alike in one of 2024's best Netflix movies in Rebel Ridge, has the charisma, stoicism, and on-screen presence to bring life to Stewart in a live-action DC project for the first time.
There's no news on when Lanterns will start filming but, with the forthcoming Max superhero show's chief creative team also in place, plus rumors that DC Studios is talking to numerous directors about helming the series, it might not be long until principal photography gets underway. While we wait, here's the show's official log line, courtesy of a Max press release: "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."
Which cult DC character is James Gunn teasing ahead of Peacemaker season 2's debut?
Possible Peacemaker season 2 spoilers follow.
As I alluded at the start of this article, some interesting casting news regarding Peacemaker season 2 was also revealed yesterday. Unlike Pierre and Chandler's hirings, though, Gunn was playing it coy (as you'll have seen in his Instagram post above) about the identity of this new enigmatic individual.
Who, then, might this be? Comic book fans haven't been shy in putting theories forward, with many commenting on threads that have appeared on numerous Reddit pages, as well as those replying to Gunn's Instagram and X/Twitter posts, to postulate who it is.
Right now, the frontrunner is Apache Chief, a deep-cut Native American DC superhero with the power to grow or shrink to unlimited sizes. He first appeared in the Hanna-Barbera kids cartoon The All-New Super Friends Hour, but has also featured in TV shows Challenge of the Superfriends and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and periodically appeared in various DC comic runs.
There are, though, other candidates. Some observers believe this individual is Snowflame, a supervillain with superhuman strength, the ability to conjure fire (that would be handy when you're trying to make a camp fire, eh?), and the ability to give people a contact high by, well, making them inhale cocaine. Manitou Raven, a superhero and expert in the art of magic derived from American shamanism, and John Butcher, a Native American vigilante, have also been name-dropped by DC diehards.
In theory, any of these fictional characters could be the person in Gunn's image. After all, the DC Studios co-chief has turned C-list and D-list comic book characters into household names – just look at his track record for doing so with The Guardians of the Galaxy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and various superpowered beings in projects, such as Peacemaker season 1 and The Suicide Squad, in the now-defunct DC Extended Universe (DCEU). If anyone can give one or more of these characters a new lease of life in a live-action capacity, I'm confident Gunn can and will.
