John Stewart actor Aaron Pierre says filming Lanterns for over 100 days prepared him for taking the next step in the DCU in 2027's Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow .
"For me, what was an enormous gift was having those eight hours of HBO [television] to live with before going onto Man of Tomorrow," Pierre tells GamesRadar+ of his DCU bow as rookie Lantern-in-training John Stewart.
It wasn't just the canvas of eight hours of television on which Pierre could paint. He embodied John Stewart across almost all of production, an opportunity he cherished – and offered a chance to build out the character.
"I was on the phone to [showrunner] Chris Mundy the other day. He was like, 'Congratulations, man. You filmed for 106 days out of 112.' Just on that note, to have 106 days with a character before going on in the DC cinematic universe is a gift. That is not a given. I am very grateful I had that," Pierre said.
On how his time on Lanterns shaped his Man of Tomorrow performance, Pierre added, "That's just the way it worked out. I don't know how intentional it was or wasn't, but I'm forever grateful for that. It allowed me to step onto the Man of Tomorrow set with a deep understanding of who my man John is."
Pierre is joining a Man of Tomorrow cast which is a mega-DCU crossover in all but name. The Superman follow-up stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult from the core cast; Mr. Terrific actor Edi Gathegi, Guy Gardner's Nathan Fillion, Hawkgirl's Isabela Merced, as well as Supergirl's Milly Alcock, Lars Eidinger's Brainiac, and Blue Beetle actor Xolo Maridueña.
Despite John Stewart bridging the gap between Lanterns and Man of Tomorrow, showrunner Chris Mundy told SFX that he wasn't given a mandate on where to leave off with the character by the show's season finale.
"We weren't tasked with having any specific landing point, which was great for us because it gave us freedom to land the story where we wanted to land the story," Mundy said. "But John will be part of the greater DC Universe. That was good for us to know. And where we land him is somewhere that they're happy with us landing him and somewhere they can take him, if they want."
Lanterns is available exclusively on HBO Max in the UK and Ireland.
For more, check out the Lanterns release schedule and everything else coming your way as part of DCU Chapter One.
