Man of Tomorrow will continue the story of 2025’s Superman, but it may also continue the story of Lanterns, raising a major question about the future of Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner. Guy Gardner was the first Green Lantern introduced in the DCU, with him being a member of Superman‘s Justice Gang and a rival to Superman. However, the future of the Green Lantern franchise in the DCU clearly isn’t on Guy’s shoulders, creating a lot of questions about his future.
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Instead, Lanterns will fully introduce this corner of DC Comics to the DCU. The series will be released in August 2026 and follows Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart and Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan, two of the most significant Green Lanterns in the comics. On top of that, Lanterns will also introduce characters like Sinestro, and is expected to feature even more intergalactic figures as the show continues.
Will Guy Gardner & John Stewart Both Be In Man Of Tomorrow?
It has been reported that Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart will return in Man of Tomorrow, meaning that the Superman sequel will act as a crossover film with Lanterns. This is incredibly exciting, showing that Lanterns is immediately tying into the larger DCU, and that the Green Lanterns are going to be a major part of bigger projects like the second Superman film. While there are still a lot of questions about the story of Lanterns, it is exciting to know that it will set up one of the DCU’s biggest films.
However, this news also raises a major question about Guy Gardner. After the release of Superman, it seemed like Guy was going to be the Green Lantern representative in the Superman corner of the DCU, while John Stewart and Hal Jordan were going to be off doing their own thing. After all, there is a massive tonal difference between Superman and Lanterns, meaning that it may be strange to see John and Guy appear alongside each other.
Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner will also appear in Lanterns, meaning that this tonal clash is a problem that the HBO series has to solve first. Since they’ll be appearing alongside each other there, it makes sense for them to both return in Man of Tomorrow. After all, some fans could be disappointed if a new Green Lantern appears in the sequel, but the main Green Lantern from the first Superman is absent. For the cinematic universe, it makes sense for them to appear alongside each other again. For narrative purposes, however, this may not be the best idea.
Having two Green Lanterns appear alongside each other risks overshadowing Superman in his own movie, meaning that this could be a problematic decision. On top of that, Superman‘s cast was already so big that it was difficult to balance. Adding more characters to Man of Tomorrow risks making this problem even worse. Having two characters with the same power set and similar backstories means that Man of Tomorrow would have to spend even more time differentiating them. After all, Man of Tomorrow can’t expect that every viewer will have seen a mature HBO series.
What Is Guy Gardner’s Future In The DCU?
This Guy and John problem in Man of Tomorrow is only the first instance of a problem that the DCU is going to have to face. There is only so much screentime that a cinematic universe can provide, and it is doubtful that the DCU will have multiple movie series and TV shows about different Green Lanterns. It is much more likely that Guy and John will more often appear alongside each other than separately. Since John is the more popular character, he will probably take the spotlight, pushing Guy to the side.
However, Guy was introduced first, meaning that the DCU would intentionally be sidelining a character who appeared in the franchise’s debut movie. So, this is a problem that needs to be solved.
The solution to this is entirely dependent on the story of Lanterns. There are tons of questions surrounding the show’s story, so it is difficult to speculate what the DCU’s story will be after that. However, it seems like the best option is to find a way to keep Guy and John significant characters in their own corners of the DCU.
For example, John could be more focused on the Green Lantern side, going on intergalactic adventures and interacting with the different Lanterns. Meanwhile, Guy could stay on Earth and be part of stories centered on the Justice Gang, and later the Justice Society or Justice League. This seems like the best way to balance both characters, although it would require some changes depending on where the DCU goes after Man of Tomorrow.
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