James Gunn’s Superman already boasted a wide cast of DC heroes and villains, but it’s looking like the sequel will outdo it. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Aaron Pierre will reprise the role of John Stewart in 2027’s Man of Tomorrow.
Pierre’s John Stewart is making his debut in the HBO Max series Lanterns, which is set to debut in August 2026. That series depicts John as a rookie Green Lantern still training under the watchful, cantankerous eye of Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan. Presumably, John will be a full-fledged ring-slinger by the time he returns in Man of Tomorrow.
Lanterns HBO TV Series Cast and Characters: Who’s Confirmed for the DC Show?
The character John Stewart was created by Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams and first appeared in Green Lantern #87 in December 1971. He achieved wider mainstream popularity thanks to his lead role in the Justice League animated series in the early 2000s, where he was voiced by Phil LaMarr.
This will mark the second time in a row one of Gunn’s Superman movies has featured a Green Lantern as a supporting character. Superman introduced Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, another colleague of John’s with a less-than-friendly demeanor. It remains to be seen if either Guy or Hal will appear alongside John in Man of Tomorrow.
Man of Tomorrow will bring back many of the main cast from Superman, including David Corenswet’s Kal-El, Nicolas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, and Skyler Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen. The film forces Superman and Luthor to form a reluctant alliance against the world-conquering villain Brainiac, who will be played by Lars Eidinger.
Man of Tomorrow is written and directed by James Gunn. Production is slated to begin later this year, with the film hitting theaters on July 9, 2027.
For more, find out who’s who in the new Lanterns trailer and see why Man of Tomorrow made the right choice by making Brainaic the villain.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
