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At the end of the first trailer for the upcoming HBO Max series Lanterns, Hal Jordan scoffs when his new partner John Stewart asks if he ever talks to other members of the Green Lantern Corps. “I’m the only human, they’re all aliens,” answers a disbelieving Jordan. As many have pointed out, Jordan’s comment makes no sense in the new DCU, where Green Lantern Guy Gardner serves as a member of the Justice Gang. But as even more have pointed out, Guy Gardner hardly meets the definition of “human.”
Superman would never say such a thing about Guy, but no one would blame him if he preferred working with another human member of the Corps. And it sounds like he just might get his wish, as The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Aaron Pierre has been added to the cast of the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, reprising his role as Stewart.
By adding Pierre to its cast, Man of Tomorrow continues to serve as a sequel to every DCU project since James Gunn and Peter Safran relaunched the universe. Obviously, Man of Tomorrow is a direct continuation of Superman, as it sees Superman and Lex Luthor forced to work together. The reason they’ll work together was introduced in the final episode of Peacemaker‘s second season, where Chris Smith was sent to a prison planet called Sanctuary. And who sent the Peacemaker to Sanctuary? Why it’s Rick Flag Sr., former boss of the Creature Commandos, who developed a hatred of all metahumans after the death of his son in The Suicide Squad.
What this means for John Stewart is still unclear, as we obviously don’t know how his story will unfold in Lanterns. The Lanterns trailer tells us that Stewart has been training under Jordan for two months, which means that he’s still a pretty green Lantern. Yet, if Stewart is anything like his comic book counterpart, then he already comes to the role with military training and a keen mind, having served as a Marine and worked as an architect. He has a cool and introspective demeanor that is, at the very least, much less chaos-prone than the attitude of one Guy Gardner.
The most obvious guess is that Stewart will be called upon to investigate the disappearances on Earth, as the planet falls under his jurisdiction in the Green Lantern Corps. Founded millennia ago by the Guardians of the Universe, the Green Lantern Corps are space cops and they each have their precincts, or sectors, to patrol. If metahumans start disappearing under his watch, the Guardians will assign him to investigate, as their authority supersedes that of even Flag and the U.S. government.
For fans of the Justice League Unlimited cartoon series, Stewart’s arrival adds a more interesting wrinkle. While the comic book Guy Gardner is a charter member of the goofier Justice League International operated by Maxwell Lord, a clear inspiration for the Justice Gang of the DCU, Stewart often serves on the main Justice League. And on Justice League Unlimited, Stewart not only served on the team, but he also had a compelling and tragic romance with fellow member Hawkgirl, who just so happens to be in the DCU already, played by Isabela Merced.
Will John Stewart be all about the investigation in Man of Tomorrow? Or will we see the start of something beautiful between him and Hawkgirl? Either way, Superman’s just glad that he doesn’t have to add Guy Gardner to his list of headaches in his next adventure.
Man of Tomorrow releases July 9, 2027.
The post Superman Will Have a Very Different Green Lantern to Deal With in Man of Tomorrow appeared first on Den of Geek.
