Superman: Nathan Fillion Teases His Approach to Guy Gardner

As production continues on James Gunn’s Superman, fans are excited to see what the film brings for the new “reset” DC Universe. Superman already boasts a surprising ensemble cast of DC characters, including Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, the iconic Green Lantern and member of the Justice League International. While we’ll have to wait and see exactly how Guy is characterized on the big screen, Fillion just shed some interesting light. In a recent interview with Collider, Fillion spoke about what drew him to the character of Guy Gardner, teasing that he is looking forward to exploring the character’s flaws, no matter how innocuous they might be. 

“The reality is that people have flaws,” Fillion argued. “We all have quirks. We all have vulnerabilities. You could have the most wonderful family, but be like, ‘Oh, my God, my dad drives me nuts. He’s got this one thing.’ Everybody’s got something, and I love to lean into those faults and flaws. It’s what makes people real and what allows audiences to relate, because we all know what that is. We all have our own. We witness it in other people. Guy Gardner is 90% flawed and doesn’t care. That’s one of his flaws. I think there’s a real freedom in playing that. So, for a guy who likes to play flaws and flawed people, Guy Gardner is a gold mine.”

Who Is DC’s Guy Gardner? 

Created by John Broome and Gil Kane in 1968’s Green Lantern #59, Guy is a blue-collar man who accidentally becomes a backup Green Lantern to Hal Jordan. He has gone on to have a unique DC tenure, both as a Lantern, a member of the Justice League International, and as the alien Warrior.

Guy Gardner has previously been portrayed in live-action by Matthew Settle in the ill-fated Justice League of America TV movie of 1997. Finn Wittrock was set to portray the character in Max’s Green Lantern series, before it was scrapped and retooled into the current DCU Lanterns series.

What Is Superman About?

Per DC Studios, Superman tells the story of Superman’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas. He is the embodiment of truth, justice and a better tomorrow, guided by human kindness in a world that sees kindness as old-fashioned. 

“We got James Gunn and Peter (Safran) working very hard on DC, which is going to be a very big growth driver for this company,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav explained last year. “We are very bullish on DC. The Superman script first draft is done. Gunn is on a mission from god. It is a really good moment to prove out on DC what we got and how strong it is globally for long-term sustainable growth.”

Who Will Star in Superman?

Superman will also star David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher, Terence Rosemore as Otis, María Gabriela de Faría as Angela Spica / The Engineer, Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt / Mr. Terrific, and Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason / Metamorpho.

“We’ve been having a lot of great conversations, David and I, with James Gunn, the director,” Brosnahan revealed in a recent interview. “We’ve been talking a lot about where this project fits into the canon of the Supermans that we know. So hopefully, this’ll be… we’ll be putting our own stamp on things.”

Superman is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on July 11, 2025.