Summary

• Nathan Fillion shares how James Gunn recruited him for the Green Lantern role in DC Universe's Superman reboot.
• Fillion recalls Gunn offering him the part after The Suicide Squad premiere party, praising Gunn's work.
• The actor appreciates Gunn's ability to create emotional connections, especially through the theme of family in his movies.

Guy Gardner actor Nathan Fillion reveals how James Gunn's DC Universe recruited him for the Superman film. DC Studios is busy getting several of their Chapter 1, "Gods and Monsters" movie and TV shows off the ground, as Gunn and Peter Safran are building out the new DC Universe. While Creature Commandos will be arriving on Max later this year, the new franchise will be properly launched in 2025 with the upcoming Superman movie.

In a new interview with Collider, Fillion opened up about how he got tapped to play Green Lantern as part of the Superman movie cast, as the film is currently in production. Fillion revealed that Gunn had offered him the gig all the way back after The Suicide Squad, sharing the following:

We were actually at the premiere party after Suicide Squad and he was in a huge crowd of people. We saw each other in the crowd and I congratulated him, ‘Oh, my God, that was amazing. It’s so great.’ He goes, ‘Hey, did Peter [Safran] tell you what we’ve got for you next?’ I said, ‘No, he hasn’t said.’ He looked around like someone was gonna be listening. We were in a throng of people, but he leaned over and said, ‘You’re gonna be Guy Gardner.’... I used to collect comic books. I had a comic book rack in my room that you could spin. I remembered Guardians of the Galaxy and I remember that I couldn’t relate to it in any way. Just couldn’t get into it for any reason. Spider-Man held something for me. Batman had something that I really liked inside. The X-Men, I couldn’t get enough. But Guardians? Eh. That movie moved me. Those movies make me feel things. And not just crying but feeling joy and feeling connections and feeling the love. It’s about family. It’s so much about family. I just think that’s what James Gunn does best. He says he’s thinking of something else that we’re all thinking of, and he just makes it so much better and he makes the things that matter to us all.

Nathan Fillion's Superhero History Explained

David Corenswet's Superman movie is just one of many superhero gigs for Fillion at this point, as he has starred in both DC and Marvel-related projects. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Fillion and Gunn, who have been collaborating for years, began their superhero team-up as early as the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, where he voiced one of the blue alien prisoners. However, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Fillion had a more expanded role, this time playing Master Karja.

Prior to getting tapped as Green Lantern in Gunn's DC Universe, the former Castle star has made himself very well known in the world of voice acting across DC animation. Ironically, Guy won't be the first Emerald Knight he plays, as Fillion has voiced Hal Jordan in multiple DC movies, including Justice League: Doom, Green Lantern: Emerald Knight, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, The Death of Superman, and Reign of the Supermen. While it was brief, Fillion also appeared in the DCEU movie timeline playing T.D.K. in Gunn's The Suicide Squad.

Fillion's other DC voice credits include playing Steve Trevor in the 2009 animated Wonder Woman movie, as well as a handful of episodes as Vigilante on Justice League Unlimited. It will be fascinating to see how Fillion's Green Lantern in live-action after all these years, especially as there are a lot of DC Universe projects he could show up after Superman. Hopefully, more details on Fillion's DC Universe Green Lantern story in Superman will emerge sooner rather than later.

Source: Collider

Key Release Dates

• 

  The Batman Part II

  Release Date:

  2026-10-02