Nathan Fillion will make his DC Universe debut in James Gunn’s Superman. The actor will portray Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, a superhero as iconic as his bowl cut, an aspect of the character that Fillion fought to retain in the DCU version.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Fillion shared how the DCU Guy Gardner almost didn’t have his iconic bowl cut, revealing that there «was talk about a different hairstyle, equally as goofy, but not a bowl cut.» Luckily for die-hard Guy Gardner fans, Fillion was on «Team Bowl Cut the whole time,» explaining, «We did a screen test earlier on with some other actors, and they gave me a test bowl cut wig, like a little mockup wig. I thought it was great. There’s just something about Guy Gardner where the bowl cut says it all for him.»
Despite Fillion believing that the mockup wig tests for Gardner’s bowl cut looked great, there were still some disbelievers within DC Studios, with the actor sharing that the main question they had was, «Will people buy the bowl cut? Will people believe it? I said, ‘They already do! It’s already established. It’s canon. I think if we don’t do the bowl cut, then you’re going to hear about it.’ But the argument here is that’s the character. If you want to know something about Guy Gardner, know this: He has a bowl cut and he’s into it. What does that tell you about this guy?»
Nathan Fillion Has a Long History of Playing Green Lanterns
While Superman marks Fillion’s first time portraying the Green Lantern Guy Gardner, this isn’t the first time that he has portrayed a member of the Green Lantern Corps. The actor is best known within the DC fandom for voicing the Hal Jordan Green Lantern in several animated films, including Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013), Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015), and The Death of Superman (2018). However, instead of Fillion, Hal Jordan will be played by Kyle Chander in the DCU, with the actor set to make his debut as the character in the series Lanterns, which is set to premiere on HBO in 2026.
Fillion will reprise his role as Guy Gardner for Lanterns, making him one of the few actors who are already confirmed to appear in three DCU projects, the other being the second season of Peacemaker. The actor shared with EW that he has already filmed some scenes for the HBO series, which he teased will showcase a different side of Guy Gardner. «I think he feels a little bit higher strung in Lanterns. I’ve done a scene in Lanterns, we filmed it already, where he’s contently smug. It’s neat to see him in different environments and how those different environments will affect a character,» he said.
Written and directed by Gunn, Superman opens in theaters on July 11.
