I'm not sure I've ever experienced anything like this: a previously relatively unknown actor has a breakout role in a movie, everyone who sees him thinks he should get a certain big role, and a literal month later he's acting the main role in the same project in the same role.

That man is Aaron Pierre, that breakout film was Rebel Ridge, and that fan-cast and definitive role is John Stewart, the main Green Lantern for James Gunn's DCU.

Insiders started reporting the development, then it reached outlets like THR, and then James Gunn himself chimed in:

“Welcome to DC, Aaron Pierre. After a long and grueling series of auditions, I am absolutely confident that we have found an incredible John Stewart.”

The audition was reportedly thanks to Pierre and Stephen James, who did screen tests with Hal Jordan and the recently cast Kyle Chandler. The two will team up for a crime thriller set on Earth, but in their role as space police officers. It's being presented as a real HBO show like The Last of Us or The Penguin, so it will have high profile when it's released.

In Pierre's case, it also stands to reason that he will make film appearances in future DCU projects. A third Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, can already be seen in the upcoming Superman, and although no Justice League assembly project has been announced yet, it stands to reason that one day it will happen and Pierre will be there as Stewart.

Pierre stood out for his role in Rebel Ridge, where everything from his looks to his obvious charisma made him a John Stewart fan cast as soon as the film came out. No doubt the noise was so loud that Gunn and others sat down to watch Rebel Ridge for themselves and decided that yes, he should be in on the action. It's a bit like Gunn bringing current Supergirl Milly Alcock into the casting process after seeing her in House of the Dragon. But what happened to Aaron Pierre happened much, much faster. Rebel Ridge came out on September 6th. It's October 9th. There are meteoric rises and everything that just happened here.

Lanterns seems to be doing well with both leads, and now James Hawes comes on board to direct the first two episodes following his time on Slow Horses, one of the best shows on television. It's not clear whether “Lanterns” is intended to be a standalone film or whether it will continue beyond the first season. Regardless, everyone will be curious to see if Pierre lives up to the hype.

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