Nathan Fillion is set to debut a brand new Green Lantern in 2025’s Superman: Legacy, and some excellent fan art offers a look at what he could look like as Guy Gardner. The Rookie star was announced as part of James Gunn’s surprising cast reveals for the new Superman reboot, alongside Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, and Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho who join David Corenswet as Superman and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane.
Fillion’s casting, which follows not only his appearance as TDK in The Suicide Squad but also his record of being cast in every James Gunn movie, prompted a mix of excitement and disappointment. While Fillion playing a Green Lantern is unquestionably a great move for the DCU reboot, Guy Gardner is not the character most would choose for him to play, particularly as he’s already played Hal Jordan before. But James Gunn has his reasons, and with Hal Jordan appearing in the upcoming Lanterns TV show, Gardner joining the superhero community around David Corenswet’s new Superman is still a win, and this fan art compounds that excitement:
Though he’s missing Gardner’s iconic – some might say notorious – bowl cut (which James Gunn has confirmed will appear in Superman: Legacy), there’s no denying Fillion looks the business in Gardner’s leather jacket-style Lantern costume.
Why Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern Casting Is Controversial
On top of the question of Superman: Legacy‘s cast of superheroes potentially contradicting the idea of it being a Superman solo movie (and opening old wounds for Snyderverse fans who remember similar criticisms leveled at Batman v Superman), Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern casting has inspired debate. Fillion is an older addition to the cast, which is by no means a problem, but could change Guy Gardner’s DC Comics origin, which saw him recruited as a 21-year-old. In actual fact, an older Gardner delivers on James Gunn’s promise of a “lived-in superhero world”, immediately suggesting longevity and changing the usual set-up of a world where superheroes are all brand new. That’s no bad thing.
On top of the age question, Fillion doesn’t fit the profile of Gardner’s comics iteration: he can probably pull off the obnoxious side of the character, but he’s not the muscle-bound jock DC fans may expect Earth’s second Green Lantern to be. Someone like Reacher‘s Alan Ritchson is a more obvious match for the former football star, and indeed Ryan Reynolds probably suited playing him more than he did Hal Jordan. Then again, James Gunn has precedent with stunt casting working out (who would have expected Chris Pratt to work as Star-Lord or Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, after all?), and superheroes are incredibly malleable. Superman: Legacy may actually benefit from a slightly softer, wiser version of Guy Gardner. Or maybe we’ll just see a Nathan Fillion performance that challenges expectations entirely…
Source: Instagram/thejulianbell
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