“In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power…Green Lantern’s light!” So goes the oath that every Green Lantern takes before wielding their own will-powered emerald power ring granted by the Guardians of the Universe, who have appointed the Green Lantern Corps to patrol 3,600 sectors across the galaxy. But of the many Green Lanterns throughout the history of the DC Universe, only one man has worn the ring of both Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner in live-action and animation: Nathan Fillion.
The Firefly star voiced the Hal Jordan Green Lantern in six DC animated movies between 2011 and 2019, and he’ll make his live-action Green Lantern debut as the hotheaded and bowlcut-haired Guy Gardner in James Gunn’s Superman.
“Being a part of the new Superman movie is a dream beyond my wildest,” the actor wrote on Instagram, attaching a photo of his slabbed copy of Guy Gardner’s first appearance in 1968’s Green Lantern #59. “I collected comics as a kid. Imagine telling that young boy that as an adult, he’d be flying around with Superman, wielding the power of a Green Lantern!”
“I’m so fortunate, not only to be enjoying this childhood vision realized, but also to have wonderful friends who support and celebrate these joys along with me,” Fillion continued. “One of them was kind enough to gift me with Guy Gardner’s first appearance back in March of 1968, never touched by human hands. What a rare treasure – both the comic, and you, Bill Roe. You sure know how to make a fella feel special. Love ya.” (Roe is a longtime collaborator of Fillion’s, having directed the actor in dozens of episodes of Castle and The Rookie.)
Superman marks the sixth time that Fillion has collaborated with Gunn, having appeared in his directorial debut, 2006’s Slither, and then in the filmmaker’s 2008 comedy series PG Porn and the Rainn Wilson-fronted 2010 superhero comedy Super.
After playing minor roles in the Gunn-directed Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and T.D.K./The Detachable Kid in 2021’s The Suicide Squad, Fillion will have an ongoing role in the new DC Universe overseen by Gunn and his DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran.
He’ll first appear in Superman as a member of Maxwell Lord’s (Sean Gunn) Justice Gang — a corporate-sponsored superhero team that includes Mister Terrific (For All Mankind‘s Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (The Last of Us‘ Isabela Merced) — and can be seen heckling Justice Gang hopeful Christopher Smith (John Cena) in Peacemaker season 2 later this year on HBO Max. Fillion will then reprise his role in HBO’s Lanterns, the True Detective-style drama series following Green Lantern Corps new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Lantern legend Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) as the intergalactic cops are drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.
Fillion first voiced Hal Jordan in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies-branded Green Lantern: Emerald Knights in 2011, and again in 2012’s Tower of Babel adaptation Justice League: Doom, 2013’s Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and 2015’s JL: Throne of Atlantis. He donned a Green Lantern costume while appearing as himself in a 2012 skit on The Daly Show, and Fillion would go on to voice Jordan in 2018’s The Death of Superman and its 2019 sequel, Reign of the Supermen.
Superman — starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Neva Howell, Pruitt Taylor Vince, and Frank Grillo — is only in theaters July 11.
“In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power…Green Lantern’s light!” So goes the oath that every Green Lantern takes before wielding their own will-powered emerald power ring granted by the Guardians of the Universe, who have appointed the Green Lantern Corps to Read More