‘Lanterns’ Officially Sets Up John Stewart’s Role in James Gunn’s ‘Man of Tomorrow’

Published Oct 5, 2026, 11:27 AM EDT

Michael John Petty is a Senior Author for Collider who spends his days writing, in fellowship with his local church, and enjoying each new day with his wonderful wife and precious daughters. At Collider, he writes features, reviews, recaps, interviews, and breaking news on select occasion. In addition to writing about stories, Michael has told a few of his own, from supernatural thrillers to historical fiction. His Western short story, The Devil's Left Hand, received the Spur Award for "Best Western Short Fiction" in 2025 from the Western Writers of America, of which he is a member. Michael currently resides in North Idaho with his growing family.

Sign in to your Collider account

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for the Lanterns finale.

Well, it's official. Hal Jordan's (Kyle Chandler) time as Green Lantern (at least on-screen) has seemingly, with John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) now taking his place as Earth's latest Emerald Knight. Rather than inducting him into the Green Lantern Corps, Lanterns reinterprets the character by making him a completely independent agent. With his own fear-infused power battery and a power ring now with a full charge, John tells Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) that he plans to take over Earth's protection from here on out. Although we still have questions about the specifics, it seems the DC Universe is setting up John's previously announced role in James Gunn's upcoming Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow.

'Lanterns' Concludes With John Stewart Becoming an Independent Green Lantern

After finding Thaal Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) and taking the lantern he made for Noah the Manhunter (Shea Pritchard) — a lantern riddled with the yellow energy of fear — John Stewart has taken it upon himself to follow in Hal's footsteps. Finally breaking free of the Guardians' control and the pressure put on him from a young age by his parents, he has chosen to fight his programming. No longer following orders, he's now an "independent contractor" with a power ring. Of course, this development isn't entirely new for John Stewart as a character. While he has traditionally been known to work quite intimately with the Green Lantern Corps in the comics — and was even the first human being counted among the Guardians of the Universe — there have been instances in the past where he's been an independent operator.

In some sense, John's really embodying the spirit of his predecessor, who was notorious for doing his own thing and failing to follow orders. While the Guardians still have an errand boy in Guy Gardner, John is now fending for himself — and everyone else on Earth without a voice. How will this continue to play out in a potential Lanterns Season 2 or even future DC Universe installments like Man of Tomorrow? It's impossible to tell so early in the game, but as arguably the most powerful person to wield a power ring, John is the type of hero who will put the little guy first. It's certainly telling that, after what happened in Rushville back in 2016, John's first instinct was to use his architectural prowess to find ways to help people, designing fallout shelters for cities to evade disasters like what happened to Metropolis in Superman.

James Gunn's 'Man of Tomorrow' Will Have Two Green Lanterns in the Cast

Aside from the fact that long-time Superman (and DC Comics) antagonist Brainiac (Lars Eidinger) will be the main threat behind Man of Tomorrow, we know very little about the Superman follow-up. Guy Gardner will be returning as well, with Nathan Fillion reprising his role after he first appeared in Gunn's live-action DC Universe outing. So, this time around, there will be two Green Lanterns around to interact with David Corenswet's Superman, who is still figuring out how to best protect Metropolis, let alone the entire planet. Again, details about how John will factor into the plot are scarce, but we can only imagine that — if Guy heeds John's warning and decides to redirect his attention to other alien worlds within this sector — both of them being around means that this is a threat that goes far beyond a Manhunter.

Lanterns has changed the status quo for the DC Universe, and there's now more than one ring-slinger in town. John Stewart is a capable man of conviction who was trained by the best Earthman Lantern there was. Now, he plans to use those abilities — abilities that seemingly outshine his predecessor — in the next phase of the DCU. However John factors into Man of Tomorrow, we can't wait to see him finally suit up to aid Earth's greatest heroes in protecting the planet.