{"id":410309,"date":"2026-05-03T21:19:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T21:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/410309\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T21:19:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T21:19:12","slug":"before-becoming-dcs-green-lantern-aaron-pierre-already-played-this-kryptonian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/410309\/","title":{"rendered":"Before Becoming DC’s Green Lantern, Aaron Pierre Already Played This Kryptonian"},"content":{"rendered":"

As James Gunn’s DCU continues to expand, Lanterns’<\/a> fast-approaching release remains one of the universe’s most interesting projects, but playing John Stewart won’t be the first time Aaron Pierre has appeared in the superhero franchise. While the Rebel Ridge actor has really burst onto the scene in the past few years, he’s been acting professionally for almost a decade.<\/p>\n

Each new role has continued to expand his profile, but there’s no doubt that his part as John Stewart in DC’s Lanterns<\/a> is his most important yet. With the likes of Superman, Peacemaker, and Creature Commandos already getting the DCU off to a great start, the studio must keep this momentum going in 2026.<\/p>\n

Clayface and Supergirl both look to have won audiences over with their trailers for the most part, yet there was plenty of fan backlash towards HBO’s upcoming Lanterns show<\/a>, leading to initial trailers being removed. This puts even more pressure on Pierre to have a stellar performance, but it isn’t his first rodeo in the world of DC.<\/p>\n

Back in 2018, Pierre appeared in Krypton, a two-part series where he played Dev-Em. Compared to DC’s vast array of televised hits, Krypton may seem relatively obscure in comparison, but the reviews were much more positive than negative, with Pierre’s character playing a substantial role in the story.<\/p>\n

Dev-Em was a Sagitari commander in the Military Guild who fought bravely throughout the series, opposing the likes of Braniac and General Zod, even losing his arm while fighting for a good cause. Transitioning from Dev-Em to John Stewart will undoubtedly be a big move for Pierre, but he’s not the first actor to take on numerous characters in this franchise.<\/p>\n

Aaron Pierre Isn’t The First DC Actor To Play Multiple Roles<\/p>\n

\"Dev-Em
\n Dev-Em (Aaron Pierre) with a soldier in Krypton<\/p>\n

Although some fans may be worried about Pierre playing his second DC character, there’s no reason to be concerned, since he’s joining a long list of actors who have done the same. Naturally, many may assume that these are simply obscure names that took on smaller roles, making Pierre an exception; however, this isn’t actually the case.<\/p>\n

The legendary Mark Hamill is best known for voicing the Joker in various animated projects, most notably Batman: The Animated Series. However, he also voiced Solomon Grundy in Justice League’s animated show, and even appeared in live-action Flash outings as The Trickster, proving that an iconic star like him successfully managed several different characters over the years.<\/p>\n

Likewise, Michael Rosenbaum also has a similar resume, as despite being best known for playing Lex Luthor in Smallville, he also voiced the Flash in Justice League (2001) as well as Johnny Charisma in Batman: Arkham Knight. All three characters are extremely different, yet Rosenbaum made them work without criticism.<\/p>\n

Pierre isn’t even the only DCU actor to fall into this category, as Jason Momoa will play Lobo in the Supergirl movie<\/a> following his stint as Aquaman. Both roles are very recognizable, yet there are few complaints about Momoa portraying either of these crucial characters, meaning Pierre’s Green Lantern should be given the same grace.<\/p>\n

Other names, like David Dastmalchian, Sean Gunn, Phil LaMarr, Khary Payton, Teri Hatcher, Nathan Fillion, and even Nicole Kidman, have all taken on multiple DC parts throughout their careers, and this is barely scratching the surface, which is why Pierre’s upcoming role as John Stewart is worth getting excited about, rather than being viewed as a concern.<\/p>\n

Aaron Pierre’s Double Casting Could Make A DCU Multiverse More Interesting<\/p>\n

\"Aaron
\n Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler walking down a road in Lanterns<\/p>\n

It’s still early in its life cycle, but the DCU is certainly building momentum and looks like it’s here to stay. That said, a multiverse remains a possibility one day, making Pierre’s double casting all the more interesting. There are already ongoing DC projects not directly connected to Gunn’s universe, such as Matt Reeves’ Batman universe and My Adventures with Superman.<\/p>\n

Therefore, it may be a long time before we see the DCU delve into the multiverse, but it could eventually allow Pierre to play both John Stewart and Dev-Em in the same project. Even if his characters don’t interact, seeing them each have a connection to someone like David Corneswet’s Superman would provide a unique dynamic that makes the universe more exciting.<\/p>\n

We’ve already seen Marvel do this by bringing in Chris Evans’ Human Torch into the MCU, where he already plays Steve Rogers. This made his cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine a breath of fresh air, and while Pierre’s Dev-Em may not have the same fanfare as the Human Torch, it could still be a nice surprise down the line.<\/p>\n

With Peacemaker being canon to the DCU<\/a> and John Cena reprising his role, there are several questions about overlapping characters and universes. A complete reset was always going to be difficult under Gunn, but with how complicated the franchise’s current iteration is, we can’t rule out old versions of heroes appearing, giving Pierre a small chance of returning as Dev-Em.<\/p>\n

Considering Lanterns is set to arrive in just a few months, Aaron Pierre is likely far more focused on his portrayal of John Stewart than digging up his old Krypton character. Still, the DCU delving into the multiverse has so much future potential, and Pierre’s double casting provides hope that it could happen eventually.<\/p>\n

Lanterns is set to premiere on August 16, 2026, on HBO Max.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As James Gunn’s DCU continues to expand, Lanterns’ fast-approaching release remains one of the universe’s most interesting projects,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410310,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,409,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-410309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}