Guy Gardner Star Nathan Fillion Was Concerned About Character “Consistency” From SUPERMAN to LANTERNS
Nathan Fillion finally brought Guy Gardner into Lanterns, but taking the loudmouth Green Lantern from the colorful world of Superman into HBO's much grittier series came with one concern, and that is Guy still needed to feel like the same guy.
Fillion made his DCU debut as Gardner in James Gunn's 2025 Superman, where his attitude, bowl cut and habit of saying exactly what's on his mind fit naturally alongside the film's larger-than-life superheroes.
Lanterns is playing a very different game. The series has leaned into a grounded mystery with a True Detective-style flavor, so Fillion wondered how his character would translate.
“My concern was consistency,” Fillion told Variety. “I knew there was going to be a shift in tone. What I didn’t want was for there to be a shift in the character himself.”
Fillion was actually surprised when he was asked to appear in Lanterns, but he eventually found a simple way to approach the tonal difference.
“I just likened it much to, if you were to spend a weekend in Metropolis, or spend a weekend in Gotham — you’d be the same person, but you’d have very different weekends,” he explained.
That's a good way to handle a shared universe. The projects can have completely different personalities without forcing the characters to change depending on which movie or TV show they're visiting.
Guy was absent from the first five episodes of Lanterns before finally arriving in Rushville in Episode 6. The series even managed to sneak in his ridiculous sense of celebrity before he physically appeared, with a cardboard cutout of Guy advertising a product inside a grocery store.
“That’s part of his schtick. He wants to not just be Green Lantern, but a famous Green Lantern,” Fillion said.
Once Guy arrives, he responds to the Rushville distress signal and visits Aaron Pierre's John Stewart in jail before ultimately freeing him.
The episode also fills in an important piece of DCU Green Lantern history. With John walking away from the ring, Guy eventually takes up the mantle. Since Superman takes place roughly nine years after the primary 2016 timeline of Lanterns, we already knew where Guy's story was heading. Now we're getting to see how he got there.
Fillion and Pierre will both return in Man of Tomorrow, the 2027 follow-up to Superman. They'll be joined by David Corenswet as Superman and Milly Alcock as Supergirl. Adria Arjona has also joined the cast in an undisclosed role.
Seeing John and Guy together again should be especially interesting after Lanterns. Their relationship now has history, and Guy's transition into the Green Lantern role adds another layer to whatever Gunn has planned for them.
Fillion's concern about consistency makes plenty of sense as the DCU grows. Superman and Lanterns couldn't be much more different tonally, but Guy Gardner doesn't need to change with them. Just drop the same obnoxious dude into a different situation and see what happens.
Lanterns continues to release new episodes weekly on HBO and HBO Max.