Aaron Pierre Cast as John Stewart in HBO's Green Lantern Series

The DC Studios has found its new John Stewart in Aaron Pierre.

Pierre, who starred in Netflix's crime action thriller film 'Rebel Ridge,' which premiered in early September, will play the superhero in HBO's 'Lanterns,' a series based on the Green Lantern DC comic.

He will play Stewart opposite Hal Jordan, secured by Kyle Chandler ('Friday Night Lights,' 'Mayor of Kingstown'), 'Deadline' reports.

James Gunn made the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, October 9 afternoon.

"Welcome to DC, Aaron Pierre. After a long and grueling series of auditions I am absolutely sure we've found an incredible John Stewart," he wrote.

The tweet included a screenshot of a 'Deadline' article, Pierre's headshot, and an animated photo of the character.

Pierre landed the role of John Stewart after an extensive search. Before the final decision was made on Tuesday, he went head-to-head with fellow frontrunner Stephan James.

James, who also completed a screen test, is on the festival circuit with drama 'The Piano Lesson.' He also starred in the Jesse Owens biopic 'Race' (2016). Damson Idris was also in the running for the coveted role at one point, according to 'Blavity.'

According to the series' log line, 'Lanterns' will follow "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."

'Lanterns,' which will be an eight episode series, will be executive produced by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and comic book writer Tom King.

John Stewart's character was created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams. Stewart's original design was based on actor Sidney Poitier and was the first African American superhero to appear in DC Comics.

Aside from the HBO series, Pierre, who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, is slated to be one of the primary voice actors in Disney's 'The Lion King' prequel, 'Mufasa,' later this year.

The 30-year-old also played Malcolm X in Nat Geo's 'Genius: MLK/X' and starred in Barry Jenkins' Prime Video series 'The Underground Railroad.'

Tags

Green Lantern, Hbo