James Gunn Claps Back at Fan Backlash Over Kyle Chandler’s ‘Lanterns’ Casting

The DCU has many exciting projects under James Gunn and Peter Safran, with two major upcoming releases being the animated Creature Commandos and the live-action Superman movie, both set for 2025.

Among other shows, Lanterns will spotlight Green Lanterns Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner as its main characters, offering a fresh take on these iconic heroes.

It was recently confirmed that Kyle Chandler (known for Friday Night Lights and Bloodline) will play Hal Jordan in Lanterns, alongside Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. Some fans were critical of Chandler’s casting, feeling he’s “too old” for the role.

Interestingly, Josh Brolin, of a similar age, was also considered, hinting that James Gunn is envisioning a different version of Hal Jordan—one who is older and takes on more of a mentor role.

John Stewart is expected to be the main focus of Lanterns, with reports suggesting that Hal Jordan may retire by the end of the show. James Gunn recently addressed the casting controversy in an interview with IGN, acknowledging the backlash.

Gunn laughed off the criticism and provided a thoughtful response, making it clear that he had a specific vision for the character and the direction of the show.

Wait a second, comic book fans had an opinion on casting. What are you talking about!?

James Gunn has faced backlash since taking over the DCU, including criticism for casting decisions like David Corenswet as Superman and choosing lesser-known actors for the Kents.

However, Gunn defended these choices, explaining that the Lanterns series was written with specific age-appropriate actors in mind, which is why Kyle Chandler was cast as Hal Jordan. He praised the show’s grounded and human story and expressed full support for the casting, showing excitement for the team’s vision.

The truth is Chris [Mundy] and Tom [King] and Damon [Lindelof] wrote an amazing series, like an incredible series. I’m so excited for people to see this. It’s very grounded, very believable, very real. The kind of things that you would never think that would be the truth about a Green Lanterns television series.

And very human, adult and wonderful. And the story that they wrote fit a couple of actors who were of these ages and so that’s who they cast. Those were their choices. I totally backed them up. I love them.

So I’m really excited for people to see what those guys have come up with. But everything is to serve the story. The story is always first. The scripts are always first. And we would never be making this show if Chris and the guys hadn’t turned in wonderful, beautiful scripts.

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