‘Lanterns’ Casts Aaron Pierre as John Stewart

Aaron Pierre is officially joining the Green Lantern series at HBO, Variety has learned.

Pierre will star as John Stewart in the series, which is titled “Lanterns.” It was previously reported that Kyle Chandler was in talks for the role of Hal Jordan. According to sources, a number of actors were considered for the role of Stewart, including Stephan James and Damson Idris.

More from Variety

The show is produced by HBO in association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios and is based on DC’s “Green Lantern” comics.

The show was picked up for eight episodes at HBO in June. Originally intended as a Max original, the show shifted to HBO as part of a new content delineation plan.

Per the official logline, the series follows “new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.”

Pierre most recently starred in the hit Netflix film “Rebel Ridge.” The film debuted on Netflix on Sept. 6 and has been on the streamer’s top 10 English language film chart ever since, including three weeks at number one. His other TV credits include playing Malcolm X in the Nat Geo series “Genius: MLK/X” and starring in Barry Jenkins’ limited series “The Underground Railroad.” He also previously appeared in the DC series “Krypton” in the role of Dev-Em. Pierre has also been in films such as “Foe,” “Brother,” and “Old.” He is also set to play Mufasa in Jenkins’ upcoming “Lion King” prequel film for Disney.

Pierre is repped by WME, Anonymous Content, Hamilton Hodell, Sloane Offer, and Narrative.

“Lanterns” is co-written by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King. All three serve as executive producers along with James Hawes, with Hawes also directing the first two episodes.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.