Earlier this week, the somewhat surprising news that Kyle Chandler (Bloodline, Catch 22, Friday Night Lights) is in talks to play veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan in the upcoming HBO Lanterns series broke, and we may now know one of the actors in contention to join him as the younger, inexperienced hero he takes under his wing.
According to MTTSH, Damson Idris (33) is one of five actors being looked at for the role of John Stewart.
Idris is an up-and-coming British actor, best-known for playing the lead in John Singleton's crime drama, Snowfall, which debuted on FX in 2017 and ended in 2023 after six seasons. He also played the co-lead in Netflix's 2021 sci-fi action film, Outside the Wire.
This isn't the first time we've heard Idris' name brought up in connection with the character, as comic book writer Tom King - who is working on the show - recently started following him and Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge) on social media, leading to speculation that they might be in the mix.
We have also heard that Elvis star Kelvin Harrison Jr. is up for the role
Lanterns "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."
Emmy Award-winning Lost and Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof is working on the pilot script along with Ozark showrunner Chris Mundy and King. Justin Britt-Gibson, Breannah Gibson and Vanessa Baden Kelly are also said to be on board.
Stephen Williams (Lost, Watchmen, Westworld) is reportedly in talks to direct the pilot.
Production on Lanterns is currently set to commence in Q1 of 2025 in the United Kingdom, potentially putting the show on track for a 2026 release.
Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner, who will make his debut in Gunn's Superman reboot, is expected to have a supporting role in the series.
An earlier Green Lantern TV series was in the works before Gunn and Safran took over as co-heads of DC Studios. That version was created by Greg Berlanti and would have starred Finn Wittrock as Guy Gardner.
Hal Jordan was previously played by Ryan Reynolds in the infamous 2011 Green Lantern movie.
"This is a story of a couple of Green Lanterns John Stewart and Hal Jordan," Gunn said of the project when it was first announced. "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."