Aaron Pierre Secured LANTERNS Role On The Merits Of His Audition Not REBEL RIDGE Buzz

Aaron Pierre seemingly became a household name overnight thanks to a buzzy first trailer for Netflix's Rebel Ridge, but that wasn't necessarily why he secured the role of John Stewart in Lanterns.

News

By MarkJulian - Apr 12, 2025 06:04 PM EST

Filed Under: Lanterns

Source: THR

The casting of Aaron Pierre as John Stewart in HBO's forthcoming Lanterns series has prompted speculation regarding the decisive factors influencing the network's choice, specifically what carries more weight- previous performances or audition dynamics?

When questioned about whether Rebel Ridge played a pivotal role in Pierre landing the role of John Stewart, James Hawes (The Amateur, Slow Horses), director of the pilot and second episode, offered a nuanced perspective.

During the casting period last September, Pierre was reportedly considered alongside a competitive field of talent, including Damson Idris (F1), Stephan James (21 Bridges), Sope Dirisu (Slow Horses), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Chevalier), and Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso).

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Hawes indicated that Pierre's audition ultimately proved compelling, securing the consensus of the entire casting team.

"I honestly think he did it totally individually in the room. With some chemistry castings and the like, it just felt like he would inhabit the role. He has such a magnificent presence. He feels so forceful, so cool, so understated," praised Haes of Pierre's audition.

"Again, I wanted this world to be rooted, and while there’s only so far you can go with rooting characters in a show about Green Lantern, they are. This is a world where we accept that the Green Lanterns exist and aliens exist. So the rest of it is played straight and in the world as we know it."

As for his impression of James Gunn, Peter Safran and the rest of the DC Studios brass, Hawes stated that they've nothing but lovely to work with during his time on the project.

"Well, I can only tell you from my experience, which is that it has been inspiring and supportive and truly thrilling. I will know more in a few months’ time, but right now, [Lanterns] just felt like a real burst of creative energy."

The series description for Lanterns has previously been described as, "following 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."

Lanterns was part of the original DCU: Gods and Monsters Chapter One rollout video released by DC Studios and James Gunn.

During that promo video, Gunn described the series as, "this is a story of a couple of Green Lanterns John Stewart and Hal Jordan. We have a few other Lanterns peppered in there but this is really a terrestrial based TV show which is almost like True Detective with a couple of Green Lanterns who are space cops watching over Precinct Earth in it they discover a terrifying mystery that ties into our largest story of the DCU."

Lanterns is expected to arrive on HBO in early 2026.

LANTERNS Pilot Wraps Filming As Director James Hawes Discusses The Show's Americana Heart

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LANTERNS Set Photos Show Aaron Pierre's (Powerless?) John Stewart In The Middle Of A Gunfight

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26 Comments

MCUKnight11 - 4/12/2025, 6:08 PM

TheVisionary25 - 4/12/2025, 6:11 PM

@MCUKnight11 - I mean what reason would he have to lie?

It’s ok to believe these creatives sometimes

TheVisionary25 - 4/12/2025, 6:20 PM

@MCUKnight11 - plus , the headline is not what he even really states in the article…

He doesn’t mention Rebel Ridge once.

grif - 4/12/2025, 6:12 PM

whats rebel ridge?

MakeAmericaGrea - 4/12/2025, 6:17 PM

@grif -

"Rebel Ridge is a 2024 American action thriller film written, produced, directed and edited by Jeremy Saulnier. The film stars Aaron Pierre as Terry Richmond, a former Marine, who has the funds needed to post bail for his cousin unjustly seized via civil forfeiture by a small town's corrupt police force. Don Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, David Denman, Emory Cohen, Steve Zissis, Zsané Jhé, Dana Lee, and James Cromwell also appear in the film."

It's about someone taking on White police officers who are being mean to his cousin who never did anything wrong.

It's an old fantasy trope.

MakeAmericaGrea - 4/12/2025, 6:14 PM

He secured it because the other more talented actors turned it down.

UncleHarm1 - 4/12/2025, 7:37 PM

@MakeAmericaGrea - Nice try, but nobody takes your opinion on an actor's talent at face value. You are the boy who cried woke.

TheNewYorker - 4/12/2025, 6:18 PM

Okay..(?)

JurassicClunge - 4/12/2025, 6:23 PM

Gunn has already cast fancasts 3 times in the DCU 😅 the role was yours the moment people started saying it online sir!

HulkisHoly - 4/12/2025, 11:04 PM

@JurassicClunge -

That’s a good thing. Remember ugly sonic? Paramount was smart enough to fix him AFTER the internet spoke up. Sure there are bad fancasts out there but it’s good that Gunn is listening to GOOD fan casts like corenswet, this dude, milly, bronahan, etc

HulkisHoly - 4/12/2025, 11:05 PM

@JurassicClunge - oh and of course, momoa as Lobo

JurassicClunge - 4/13/2025, 1:18 AM

@HulkisHoly - idk man, shows a lack of creativity imo 😅

TheVisionary25 - 4/12/2025, 6:42 PM

Rebel Ridge came out in September and he was officially cast the next month so while they could have seen the film , it’s also likely they didn’t and just liked him depending on the auditions & tests he did.

Regardless , the movie showed he could be a good John Stewart so glad he ended up getting the part!!.

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Also , it seems like them playing it straight and almost “matter of fact” is their way of “grounding” this story rather then getting rid of the sci fi elements which makes sense if Earth already has 3 Green Lanterns and it’s a world where superheroes have existed for awhile…

There’s no sense of wonder in that regard for people in this and the fantastical is treated mundanely which could be interesting.

Anyway very excited for this , it is my most anticipated DCU project right now!!.

RedFury - 4/12/2025, 7:26 PM

@TheVisionary25 - that's some excellent analysis there dude. I really like how you describe the grounded aspect as in them playing it straight. That makes a lot of sense within what they've been saying, and hopefully alleviates some folks worries about it going down the route of removing the sci-fi to grab the general audience.

Also, Aaron Pierre has no rite being so damn cool lol. I'm really pumped to see him as John Stewart, especially after watching Rebel Ridge. He could easily become Hollywood's next action star, while also being a dramatic actor. I really hope Lanterns is a hit so his career skyrockets.

TheVisionary25 - 4/12/2025, 7:33 PM

@RedFury - thanks for

They have said they aren’t getting rid of those elements and we have someone like Sinestro in the show too so it definitely seems like the fantastical stuff is still there so I feel that’s what they mean by grounded

RedFury - 4/12/2025, 7:41 PM

@TheVisionary25 - totally agree. Reading between the lines really gives those points breath. They probably never should have called it grounded because it's such a loaded term when it comes to this genre. People can't help but to think they're going to neuter the sci-fi. But it still exists in the DCU that Superman exists in, and as Gunn has stated that world is full of sci-fi, magic, and fantastical ideas/characters.

ShimmyShimmyYA - 4/12/2025, 6:53 PM

Really who cares? People get casted for appearing in something else all the time. Fans need to stop pretending they should have a say in production choices , let the creatives execute their vision, they already got a giant corporation looming over them they don’t need a million people who will forget about it within a week yelling at them too

NinnesMBC - 4/12/2025, 6:56 PM

He surely earned it by his effort in the audition, but the buzz that generated from that film definitely played a factor in his name reaching to the DC Studios execs and then the agents did their thing. A small factor that plays a small role.

ModHaterSLADE - 4/12/2025, 8:11 PM

I mean regardless he was great in the role🤷🏾‍♂️

DarthAlgar - 4/12/2025, 9:08 PM

Well, better him than Tyrese I suppose.

SolarSoldier - 4/12/2025, 9:25 PM

Always found it interesting when British actors are hired for American roles....

RolandD - 4/12/2025, 10:48 PM

@SolarSoldier - there have been a number of times where I didn’t even know the actor was British until after the fact such as with Christian Bale and Henry Cavill. Of course I did see Bale do something that was at at least close to his native accent in The Prestige but even that is not his actual British accent I do believe. I had already seen Batman Begins and The Dark Knight by that time.

SolarSoldier - 4/13/2025, 3:00 AM

@RolandD - People from Britain notice and complain about the accents(RDJ in Dr Dolittle). I'm curious to see how he'll pull off being American military.

THEKENDOMAN - 4/13/2025, 2:36 AM

This is a load of bollocks.

Who knew this fine chocolate mother[frick]er before Rebel Ridge?

Very [frick]ing few mate, if any.

My misses and I watched Rebel Ridge by pure luck and after we were like this fine chocolate mother[frick]er is going to be a star.

And I'm always right when it comes to these things, ask my misses.

So don't play down the explosion and base it on some mother[frick]er drama, we and the rest of the world know it's not.

Gunn saw that movie and was like that fine negro mother[frick]er is John Stewart.

For [frick]s sake

SolarSoldier - 4/13/2025, 3:02 AM

@THEKENDOMAN - I knew him from the SYFY series, Krypton.
And your Tropic Thunder caricature..isn't funny.

THEKENDOMAN - 4/13/2025, 3:34 AM

@SolarSoldier - Havent watched Krypton mate.

Tropic Thunder Caricature? Love that, but I do not see what [frick]ing relevance that has to do with what I [frick]ing posted, and neither do I see the [frick]ing humour you so graciously in a [foo foo]y way say it lacks.

But that thanks for letting me know about Krypton. 👊🏿

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Aaron Pierre Secured LANTERNS Role On The Merits Of His Audition Not REBEL RIDGE Buzz

Aaron Pierre seemingly became a household name overnight thanks to a buzzy first trailer for Netflix's Rebel Ridge, but that wasn't necessarily why he secured the role of John Stewart in Lanterns.

LANTERNS Pilot Wraps Filming As Director James Hawes Discusses The Show's Americana Heart

LANTERNS Set Photos Show Aaron Pierre's (Powerless?) John Stewart In The Middle Of A Gunfight

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.