Seven years ago, Lanterns star Aaron Pierre starred in a totally different DC TV show where he even fought Brainiac before Man of Tomorrow. The world has recently been waking up to the talent of the 32-year-old British actor Aaron Pierre after his breakout role in Netflix's Emmy-winning flick Rebel Ridge. Pierre has since voiced the titular lead in Mufasa: The Lion King and will soon join the galaxy far, far away in Star Wars: Starfighter, but he is currently the talk of the town thanks to HBO and DC Studios' eight-episode detective drama Lanterns.
The actor beat out competition from Beacon 23 actor Stephan James and F1 star Damson Idris to become John Stewart, aka Green Lantern, in James Gunn's DCU. Having had his superhero origin story recounted on HBO in Lanterns, Pierre is gearing up to join the big-screen Superman saga next year in Man of Tomorrow, with Stewart expected to team up with other DCU superheroes against Brainiac.
But, strangely, Man of Tomorrow won't be Pierre's first go at fighting Brainiac, as he was previously instrumental in the villain's defeat in Syfy's Krypton. Created by Batman Begins writer David S. Goyer, Krypton took place 200 years before Kal-El's birth and centered on his grandfather, Seg-El. Pierre featured in all 20 episodes of Krypton as Dev-Em, a military commander in Kandor City's Sagitari police force who was intended to marry Lyta-Zod (yes, that Zod family).
The two-season DC epic was a major viewership win for Syfy in Season 1; however, it suffered a major decline in Season 2 and was ultimately canceled after a short-lived run from 2018 to 2019. Sadly, Krypton was overshadowed by the Arrowverse on the DC TV front and has largely been forgotten in recent years amid the rise of blockbuster-scale superhero TV shows like Lanterns and Peacemaker.
Coming from a long bloodline of dedicated Kryptonian soldiers, Dev-Em found himself in a love triangle with Lyta-Zod (to whom he was betrothed) and Seg-El (with whom she was secretly involved). He found himself fighting the terrorist group Black Zero and even came under Brainiac's mind control before breaking free and allying with Seg-El, who managed to trap the android villain in the Phantom Zone.
By the end of Krypton, Pierre's loyal Kryptonian soldier left the Sagitari behind and joined the resistance against General Zod's fascist dictatorship, as the Superman villain had traveled back in time to the Syfy series' timeline. Zod not only enslaved and mass-murdered his own people but also set out to conquer the cosmos and form an intergalactic Kryptonian empire, even utilizing Doomsday to do so.
The Future Is Bright for Aaron Pierre in James Gunn's DCU
For now, fans still have a few weeks of Lanterns left to enjoy, unraveling the tail-end of its mystery of who killed Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan. Solving that murder is bound to be a right of passage for Aaron Pierre's John Stewart to finally become a full-time Green Lantern, hopefully with a more comic-booky suit than his mentor.
That ascension will set the course for July 2027's Man of Tomorrow, where Stewart will be an active space-cop before Lars Eidinger's Brainiac lands on Earth. As the Superman sequel is written and directed by James Gunn, unlike Lanterns, audiences may see a lighter take on the Green Lantern, akin to the Justice League animated series, possibly even complete with an emerald ring construct suit.
Many have theorized that Stewart, the Justice Gang, and Blue Beetle, all of which are returning, will play minor roles compared to Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor, David Corenswet's Superman, and Milly Alcock's Supergirl. The superintelligent Brainiac has a history of collecting superheroes in his quest to collect all knowledge, meaning that he could take DCU icons like Stewart off the table early.
Regardless, Man of Tomorrow will be an important step in establishing the Justice League as Brainiac pushes Superman to form his own superhero team to better prepare for future larger-than-life villains. The newbie Green Lantern is bound to be a founding member, although the DCU still lacks crucial heroes like Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter to complete the roster.
Beyond that, DC Studios is early in development on Lanterns Season 2, with a writers' room now open to craft the narrative for a potential renewal. The HBO series' success may allow for a bigger budget return that leans more into the sci-fi side of Green Lantern, which was underexplored in the grounded Season 1.
Lanterns marks DC's first major project for the Emerald Knight since Ryan Reynolds' 2011 disaster, Green Lantern, put the space cop on ice. If Lanterns and the DCU can successfully restore the character's brand image, audiences could one day return to theaters for a new Green Lantern movie starring Pierre that has the budget to travel the cosmos and deliver something more action-heavy.
