The 2026 TV schedule will soon mark the arrival of Lanterns, the latest DC show, and I can’t wait! Co-created by Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy and Tom King, the show will usher Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart into the continuity as he’s trained by Kyle Chandler’s rumpled and jaded Hal Jordan. Also featured on the show is Nathan Fillion, who reprises his role as Guy Gardner from other DCU-set productions. Fillion was pleased to be involved, but he also had a funny take on seeing his colleagues get into character.
Considering how “eclectic” this version of Gardner is, I would’ve thought Nathan Fillion would have some unconventional ways of getting into Guy’s bowl cut-covered mind. The seasoned actor was seemingly thrown for a bit of a loop by his co-stars’ preparation, though. Fillion appeared alongside the cast and producing team during the show’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, where CinemaBlend was present. He recalled his amazement at seeing how quickly his scene partners could turn their roles on and off, so to speak:
When you’re jumping on a moving train,you're just hoping everybody's going to be cool and relaxed and really nice and that's your day. I spent a day with these people. Everybody was very sweet, very kind, very nice to me. And then, just before they say action, it's like a cloud rolls over and everything gets really dour and everything starts to sink down. Everybody starts to brood a little bit and then, ‘Cut!’ and they're back. And everybody's like, ‘Cool, want to grab a sandwich?’ It’s kind of like that.
Even though Fillion’s been around plenty of actors over the course of his career, I can understand him being a bit surprised by how his castmates operate. I can’t even imagine the kind of whiplash a person might feel due to actors quickly snapping into their characters and snapping out of them. The mere thought of Kyle Chandler seriously acting as though he’s trying to threaten me with a powerful ring and then suddenly asking me to join him for lunch is both funny and daunting.
What Fillion’s comments drive home, though, is that the actors have really committed to their characters, which could bode well for Lanterns. Also, considering the seemingly tense nature of the series, it makes sense that everyone would “brood a little bit.” The relationship between John (a war veteran) and Hal alone seems to be uncomfortable at times, and Hal also has an “intense and intimate” history with Sinestro, his former mentor. So some of these characters will have some serious baggage at the onset of the show.
The Lanterns trailers, however, have yet to provide a clear picture of what this series is actually about. I’ve been getting True Detective vibes, but John and Hal’s mission isn’t clear, and I still have questions about how some of the supporting characters – played by the likes of Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt and Laura Linney – factor into the proceedings. Still, that doesn’t extinguish any of my hype.
As part of that, I’m particularly curious to see how the humorously inappropriate Gardner fits into a more serious DCU story like the one this Green Lantern show is apparently telling. I’m confident that Nathan Fillion gives another entertaining performance that helps to further develop Guy. Also, I’m glad Fillion enjoyed his time on set, and I can’t imagine he’ll forget seeing his co-stars jump into character so quickly.
Lanterns is set to premiere on August 16, and episodes will be streamable with an HBO Max subscription.
