While the John Stewart version of Green Lantern and Shayera Hol, a.k.a. Hawkgirl, have both been around the DC Comics space for a long time, their paths crossed in a unique way on the animated DC TV shows Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Now different animated takes on these characters are coming together for Green Lantern: Beware My Power, though they have a much different dynamic with one another. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actress Jamie Gray Hyder (who departed the NBC series at the start of Season 23) plays the Hawkgirl to Aldis Hodge’s John Stewart, and the actress chatted with CinemaBlend about her version of Hawkgirl’s “one-track mind” and her favorite moments from the upcoming DC movie.
Jamie Gray Hyder is no stranger to voiceover work, with her work that field including Voltron: Legendary Defender and several Call of Duty games. She also has some Marvel experience under her belt from recurring as Jen in the short-lived Inhumans series, and Green Lantern: Beware My Power afforded her the opportunity to her stamp on DC. Since this version of Hawkgirl is less a straightforward superhero and more a dedicated warrior, I asked Hyder about what her mindset was like with tackling such a character, and she answered:
Dropping into her sort of one-track mind and her quest to save her people and her planet really drove my version of the character. She doesn’t do a lot of messing around, a lot of joking around with the guys. She really has her mind on the mission, and that part of her was something I didn’t ever want to lose. And for me, it’s reflective of a lot of the women that are in the armed forces and the people that we consider heroes today. Those are the aspects of her character that I wanted to make sure were being highlighted.
As teased in the Green Lantern: Beware My Power trailer, Jamie Gray Hyder’s Hawkgirl isn’t a member of the Justice League when we meet her, but fighting on behalf of her fellow Thanagarians in their war against the people of Rann. Without going into specific spoilers, circumstances require her to work with Aldis Hodge’s John Stewart, who only recently obtained a power ring to channel his willpower, and Jimmi Simpson’s Green Arrow. It was important for Hyder to properly channel Hawkgirl’s serious demeanor, and as she noted, the character’s personal journey brought to mind women who serve in the military.
You’ll have to watch Green Lantern: Beware My Power to see how John Stewart, Hawkgirl and Green Arrow’s mission turns out, but as one of the talent involved, Jamie Gray Hyder has been able to see the movie early. As such, in response to my inquiry about what she liked most about how the final product turned out, the actress said the following:
I was so thrilled watching the film. When you do a voiceover project like this, you don’t get to interact with the other characters in the same room, and you’re laying your part down on its own. And you don’t get a chance to see how it appears in context until the final version. So my favorite scenes are the ones where you get to see her rigid, badass personality bump up against somebody who’s a little more goofy, like Green Arrow played by Jimmi Simpson, or when you see her bump against somebody who’s more human based like Adam Strange, Brian Bloom’s character. And my favorite moment probably comes when you start to see Adam Strange and Hawkgirl working together. Having an existing relationship with Brian after working together on Call of Duty, it made our banter in our scenes together really come along for me when I was finally able to see the film.
With Hawkgirl serving as the main Thanagarian representative in Green Lantern: Beware My Power, Brian Bloom’s Adam Strange fights for Rann in this conflict. Jamie Gray Hyder mentioned earlier in the interview that she recorded her lines without any of her costars present, but it worked out that the “banter” between her and Bloom’s characters flowed so well, which Hyder attributed to the “magic of voiceover.” Beware My Power’s other cast members include Ike Amadi and Keesha Sharp respectively as Justice League members Martian Manhunter and Vixen, as well as Rick D. Wasserman as Sinestro, who leads an elite group of Yellow Lanterns. Rick Wamester directed the feature, and Ernie Altbacker and John Semper co-wrote the script.
Green Lantern: Beware My Power will be available to buy on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Digital starting Tuesday, July 26. Following that, the next DC Universe Animated Original Movie lined up from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, which comes out on October 18.
