Lanterns casts Aaron Pierre as John Stewart

Aaron Pierre, the star of Netflix Rebel Ridgehas secured the lead role of Green Lantern John Stewart in the acclaimed series from DC Studios and HBO Lanterns.

The casting crowns one of the most intensive actor searches in a long time. Not only is the show the first major TV project from DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran, but Stewart's role is significant as the fan-favorite comic book character was one of DC's first black superheroes.

The intensive casting process was thanks to Pierre and Stephan James, who travel to festivals with a lot of drama The piano lesson and who starred in the 2016 Jesse Owens biopic race. Both took part in test recordings, where the actors competed against Kyle Chandler, who had already been cast, on Thursday and Friday. Each actor had their boosters, but the final decision came on Tuesday.

Pierre definitely brings excitement to the show as the actor has risen to the top of the casting lists over the course of a few months. His leading role in Jeremy Saulniers rebel ridge debuted on Netflix on September 6th and was the number one title worldwide on Netflix for three consecutive weeks.

The actor already had experience with the comic world. He once appeared alongside Mahershala Ali in Marvel Studios. bladebut the version of the long-delayed film has changed and he will no longer be involved in the future. He also appeared in M. Night Shyamalan's film Oldan adaptation of a graphic novel.

Lanterns should be a coarse-grained, True detective mood and follows Hal Jordan, a legend of the space police known as the Green Lanterns, as he reluctantly mentors Stewart, a younger Green Lantern. The two intergalactic police officers are drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.

Chandler, a TV veteran thanks to acclaimed performances Friday Night Lights And BloodlineHe is supposed to appear as Jordan.

James Hawes, an established TV standout who most recently directed a number of episodes of the Gary Oldman spy series Slow horseswas tapped to direct the first two episodes of the sci-fi cop series.

Lanterns has a straight-to-series order from HBO and comes from top creators. Chris Mundy (Ozark), Damon Lindelof (Guardian, Lost) and Eisner Prize-winning comic book writer Tom King serve as executive producer and writer, with Mundy serving as showrunner for the planned eight-episode season. Hawes also joins the team as an executive producer.

Writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams introduced Stewart in 1971 Green Lantern #87, 12 years after Hal Jordan and the larger mythos of the Green Lantern Corps arrived on the scene.

Pierre was recently seen hosting the NatGeo series Genius: MLK/Xportrays civil rights activist Malcolm X, Garth Davis' 2023 science fiction drama Enemy alongside Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan Clement Virgos Brother and the award-winning limited series by Barry Jenkins The subway. In December, Pierre takes on the title role Mufasa in Barry Jenkins' computer-generated animation Lion King Prequel for Disney.

Pierre is repped by WME, Anonymous Content, Hamilton Hodell and Sloane Offer.