This year, Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre joined the DCU’s new ‘Lanterns’ series, created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and comic book writer Tom King. While some fans expressed concerns about the casting, King defended the choice in a recent interview with ComicBook.
“I mean, I would say I’m over the moon but that’s not far enough for a Lantern. I guess I’m over Oa? That’s pretty far,” he told the outlet about Chandler and Pierre. “You should see these two together. They have amazing chemistry and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m not allowed to say anything except that I can say it’s awesome!”
“We’ve got the perfect cast. When you look at Kyle, you see someone who used to fly jet planes and embodies Hal. When you look at Aaron, his heart, his soul, and his strength are so John Stewart. He’s so perfect. It’s going to be great.”
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn addressed the complaints similarly during an interview with IGN. He spoke highly of both actors, explaining that he had long wanted to work with Pierre, who was almost cast in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ as Adam Warlock, and calling Chandler’s performance as Hal Jordan ‘amazing.’
“So, I’m really excited for people to see what those guys have come up with,” the director added. “But everything is to serve the story. The story is always first. The scripts are always first. And we would never be making this show if Chris and the guys hadn’t turned in wonderful, beautiful scripts.”
He also commented on the story created by Mundy, King, and Lindelof, saying, “I’m so excited for people to see this. It’s very grounded, very believable, very real. The kind of things that you would never think that would be the truth about a ‘Green Lanterns’ television series. And very human, adult and wonderful. And the story that they wrote fit a couple of actors who were of these ages and so that’s who they cast. Those were their choices. I totally backed them up. I love them.”
‘Lanterns’ will be the first live-action series released under James Gunn and Peter Safran’s leadership. According to Gunn, production is set to begin soon, and the show is expected to premiere in 2026, just before ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.’
