Edmonton-born Nathan Fillion returns as Green Lantern in HBO’s Lanterns
Canadian actor reprises his Guy Gardner role as DC’s new crime-drama series debuts on Crave
Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner. The Edmonton-born actor reprises the character in HBO’s new series Lanterns.
Photo: Warner Bros./DC Studios
Edmonton-born actor Nathan Fillion is back in the DC Universe, reprising his role as Green Lantern Guy Gardner in the new HBO series Lanterns.
The DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television series premiered Sunday, Aug. 16, with Canadian audiences able to watch it on Crave. Bell Media scheduled the series premiere for 9 p.m. ET.
Lanterns centres on two other members of the Green Lantern Corps: new recruit John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, and veteran Lantern Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler.
Rather than sending its heroes immediately into a sprawling space adventure, the series brings them to Earth. According to Bell Media, Stewart and Jordan become involved in a murder investigation in the American heartland, setting up a story that combines the Green Lantern mythology with a crime-drama mystery.
Fillion appears as Guy Gardner, the abrasive, bowl-cut-wearing Green Lantern he first played in James Gunn's Superman. He subsequently reprised the character in the second season of Peacemaker. DC had previously confirmed that Fillion would carry the same character through all three projects.
His role in Lanterns is a guest appearance rather than one of the series' two leads. DC describes the show as primarily the story of Hal Jordan and John Stewart, while noting that Gardner returns as part of the wider Green Lantern world.
Fillion, 55, was born and raised in Edmonton. He attended what was then Concordia University College of Alberta before studying at the University of Alberta, where he majored in art and minored in drama. His television career has since included Firefly, Castle and his current starring role as John Nolan on ABC’s The Rookie. In 2025, Concordia University of Edmonton awarded him an honorary doctorate.
His latest DC appearance continues what has become a recurring franchise role. Guy Gardner is one of several human members of the Green Lantern Corps in DC's comics, but Fillion's version is considerably less polished than the traditional superhero archetype — loud, cocky and instantly recognizable by his much-discussed bowl cut.
Lanterns also stars Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones.
New episodes of Lanterns are available in Canada through Crave.
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