Longtime James Gunn collaborator Nathan Fillion is set to make his DCU debut as Guy Gardner in The Suicide Squad director's Superman reboot, and it sounds like this first big-screen take on the Green Lantern is going to stick pretty closely to his prickly comic book counterpart.
While speaking to TV Line about his long-running series, The Rookie, Fillion shared some new details on his interpretation of Gardner.
"He's a jerk!," said the actor when asked what separates Guy from his fellow ring-slinging heroes. "What's important to know is, you don't have to be good to be a Green Lantern; you just have to be fearless. So Guy Gardner is fearless, and he is not very good. He's not nice, which is very freeing as an actor because you just think to yourself, what is the most selfish, self-serving thing I can do in this moment? And that's the answer. That's what you do in that moment. I think if he has a superpower, it might be his overconfidence, in that he thinks he could take on Superman. He can't!"
Certainly sounds a lot like... Guy Gardner!
We got our first glimpse of Fillion as the space-faring hero in the Superman teaser trailer, and the second official look via a brief Super Bowl promo was met with some ridicule by fans. The character is supposed to be a complete tool, though, so others felt the teaser was completely appropriate.
Fillion is also expected to appear as Gardner in HBO's Lanterns series, but this has yet to be confirmed.
Superman also stars Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Isabel Merced as Hawkgirl, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho.
Sara Sampaio is on board as Lex's assistant/lover Eve Teschmacher, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell will play "Ma" and "Pa" Kent, and Milly Alcock's Supergirl has been confirmed to make her debut ahead of her own Woman of Tomorrow movie.
"And that’s a wrap," Gunn posted earlier this year when filming concluded. "God bless our cast and crew whose commitment, creativity, and hard work have brought this project to life. I set out to make a movie about a good man in a world that isn’t always so much. And the goodness and kindness and love I’ve encountered on a daily basis on the set has inspired me and thrust me forward when I felt too spent to move on my own.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. It has been an honor. The destination has been Superman, but the journey has been the toil and the laughter and the emotions and ideas and magic we’ve shared together on set - and for that I am forever grateful."
You can check out an updated synopsis for the movie below.
"In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind."