Is Nathan Fillion In HBO's 'Lanterns'? The Different Green Lanterns, Explained
Lanterns is officially streaming on HBO, marking the third TV series in the DC Universe. However, it’s not the first time we’ve seen a Green Lantern in the DCU. Nathan Fillion, a longtime collaborator of DCU co-head James Gunn, debuted as Guy Gardner (aka Green Lantern) in Superman (2025). In the film, Gardner is a blunt, smug member of the Green Lantern Corps who also serves on the Justice Gang team with Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Mister Fantastic (Edi Gathegi).
With his wisecracking ways and signature bowl-cut hairstyle, Gardner cut quite the memorable figure. Viewers were amused to see his return for a cameo in Season 2 of Peacemaker (2022). However, the premiere of Lanterns introduces us to two very different Green Lanterns, raising questions of whether Gardner will make an appearance. Use our guide to find out what you need to know about Fillion’s role in the show and all the different Green Lanterns in the DC Universe.
Does Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner Return In 'Lanterns'?
If you were a fan of Fillion’s comic book-accurate depiction of the brash and somewhat obnoxious Gardner, you’ll be pleased to learn that he does appear in HBO’s Lanterns. Variety confirmed Fillion’s casting in Lanterns a year before the show’s premiere. Meanwhile, Fillion teased his role in advance, promising fans they’d see some of the familiar smug Gardner onscreen. However, he also teased EW about a shift in the character as he becomes less smug and more uncomfortable, which seems to indicate the effect John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) has on him.
At the end of Lanterns’ pilot episode, a season preview further confirmed Fillion’s appearance. Based on the preview, Gardner meets Stewart in an unlikely place: prison. The series may be following a comic book storyline in which Gardner breaks Stewart out of jail after he’s sentenced to death for killing another Lantern. The biggest mystery of the show, though, is how Gardner comes to carry the Green Lantern ring in Superman when Hal Jordan is Earth’s Green Lantern and the carrier of the ring in Lanterns.
The Green Lanterns In 'Lanterns'
With Gardner’s confirmed appearance in Lanterns, the total Green Lanterns in the show so far is three. It centers on two primary Lanterns: Hal Jordan and John Stewart. In the series, as in the comics, Jordan is the Green Lantern Corps member assigned to protect Earth. As a Green Lantern, he’s an interstellar peacekeeper. Much of his power stems from his Green Lantern Ring, which gives him the ability to create hard-light constructs. He believes he was chosen to be a Green Lantern because he lived through the thing he feared most, losing his parents, and so had nothing left to fear.
However, the Jordan in Lanterns is also older and nearing retirement. As a result, he has a trainee, Stewart. He’s hand-selected by the Guardians of the Universe to be Jordan’s eventual replacement. In the comics, Stewart also begins as a mentee but eventually takes the Green Lantern mantle from Jordan. Gardner is the third Green Lantern in Lanterns, though it remains to be seen how he fits into the picture. The fact that he possesses the ring and the Green Lantern title on Earth in Superman raises the question of why he inherited Jordan’s position rather than Stewart, or if there are now multiple Green Lanterns on Earth.
The Green Lanterns Beyond 'Lanterns'
Newcomers to the DC franchise may be a bit confused about why there are three Green Lanterns in Lanterns. It’s important to know that Green Lantern isn’t just a superhero title like Superman or Batman. The title comes from the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic law enforcement agency that operates across the DC Universe. The scope and reach of their jurisdiction are extensive, featuring over 7,200 members across 3,600 sectors of the universe.
Since there are over 7,200 Green Lanterns in the comics, several different individuals have taken the mantle of Earth’s Green Lantern. In fact, the first Lantern wasn’t Stewart, Jordan, or Gardner, but Alan Scott. When Scott made his comic debut, the Green Lantern Corps didn’t exist, and his ring’s powers came from magic. Eventually, the comics retconned his story to fit with the Green Lantern Corps by establishing his ring as the Starheart, an ancient artifact created by the Guardians.
Interestingly, Lanterns describes Jordan as Earth’s “first” Green Lantern, suggesting Scott doesn’t exist in the DCU. Still, there is a fourth confirmed Green Lantern in Lanterns. Jordan’s mentor and former Green Lantern Thaal Sinestro will appear in the series, portrayed by Ulrich Thomsen. While Jordan, Stewart, Gardner, and Thomsen are the four existing Green Lanterns in the DCU, the vast law enforcement agency opens the door to further Lanterns in the future.
