By Matt Minton
Plus IconMatt Minton
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SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 6 of “Lanterns,” now streaming on HBO Max.
Nathan Fillion has had a hard time convincing his friends that he’s actually in “Lanterns” after being absent for the first five episodes.
“Thank goodness HBO has been kind enough to use my face up on the placard on the screen!” he quips to Variety.
But after tonight’s episode, Guy Gardner (Fillion) is back in action, revealed to be the new Green Lantern after John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) leaves behind the ring for good. The comedic character, complete with his signature bowl haircut, appears in the 2026 timeline as John returns to Rushville and meets up with Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) one last time before Hal is found dead in the bleachers.
“It’s nice that there’s a bunch of us witnessing the birth of the DC Universe that’s being thrown at us in these pieces, and Guy Gardner is becoming a thread in the backdrop,” Fillion says. “He’s a very public part. I think that says a lot about who he is.”
Courtesy of John Johnson/HBO In the episode, Guy visits John in jail after getting the distress signal from Rushville. While Guy is initially reluctant to bust him out, John hits him where it hurts the deepest: “Everything you have is because I didn’t take it.”
With that, Guy is “beholden” to someone for the first time in his life.
“Wearing the ring, and having the mantle of Green Lantern, is far more important to Guy’s ego than it is to Hal and John’s. The stakes are higher for his sense of identity,” Fillion says. “He doesn’t like that he owes John Stewart anything — John Stewart needs a favor, and that’s what he leans on.”
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