Green Lantern is a tough superhero to adapt for live-action. Let’s not forget, the much-maligned 2011 “Green Lantern” film was directed by Martin Campbell, who just five years before had been heralded with saving James Bond with “Casino Royale.”
The director who saved Bond couldn’t even figure out a way to crack Green Lantern.
On the surface it looks easy, it’s just a guy with a power ring who can create anything he can imagine with that ring’s energy. But once you get past the surface, Green Lantern becomes … complicated. Green Lantern isn’t “a guy” or any one person, it’s a galactic group of space cops. Hal Jordan is the first Green Lantern (OK, technically Alan Scott is the first, but his story doesn’t have anything to do with any of this) and the one most people know.
In the 1970s, the comic introduced John Stewart to be Hal’s backup, something Hal did not like very much. In the 1980s, Hal quit being a Green Lantern, with John Stewart finally taking over.
During a recent interview with Aaron Pierre, who plays John Stewart in HBO’s upcoming live-action series, “Lanterns,” asked me about my relationship with the comic. I mentioned that my first-ever issue of “Green Lantern” was #183, one that features a cover in which John Stewart is literally pushing Hal out of the way and calling him a “has-been.” (Kyle Chandler, who plays an arrogant, seen-it-all version of Hal Jordan, balked at this depiction of Hal on this cover.)
But this exact relationship is at the heart of the “Lanterns” series and is, frankly, the most interesting aspect of these Green Lantern characters. In “Lanterns,” both Hal and John are investigating an alien presence in a small Nebraska town.
Green Lantern stories can have a tendency to lean too far into the sc-fi angle, which can alienate a lot of non-hardcore fans. “Laterns” takes a low-fi approach, setting most of the story in this town as Hal and John try to figure out just what on Earth is going on (literally). And they try to figure out each other. Hal has been told that John is only his back-up, but John has been told he will be replacing Hal.
Let’s just say, these two men do not always see eye to eye.
Ahead, Chandler and Pierre discuss their relationship to Green Lantern and what both of them wanted to bring to Hal Jordan and John Stewart. When doing interviews with two co-stars at once, it’s always interesting to get a read on what their relationship is when the cameras are off. In other words, it’s pretty easy to tell when two actors do not really know each other at all. That felt the opposite here,as Chandler and Pierre actually have great chemistry together — with Pierre delivering most of the thoughtful answers and Chandler playing the role of the lovable crank.
Which, yes, is kind of what watching them in “Lanterns” is like. When the interview started, Chandler hadn’t had lunch yet…
The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
Aaron Pierre: Have you had lunch?
Kyle Chandler: No, my stomach hurts.
Kyle Chandler needs food. This is what I’m learning already.
Pierre: Right!
Chandler: Hey, we’re cutting into your time.
But you need lunch. Now I feel bad.
Chandler: [Points to the ground] They brought me my lunch.
What did you both know about Green Lantern before doing this series? Did you have any relationship with either Hal Jordan or John Stewart?
Chandler: I didn’t know much at all. I knew the name, the character. I read comic books when I was a kid. But I was a kid! And I’m not part of the comic book culture…
Well, you are now.
Chandler: I went to my first Comic-Con not too long ago. That was eye-opening! Revelatory. I now understand a little bit more of what it all is. But, prior to that, I didn’t know, personally, what it was. So the Green Lantern himself? And the character, and the story? I was very unaware of the past and the depth of his character.
Aaron, what was your relationship with Hal Jordan or John Stewart?
Pierre: So, my first introduction to the DC Universe was when I was probably about maybe 10. Maybe a little bit younger than that. And we have this store in London called W.H. Smith and they would sell comic books. My childhood best friend and I — who is no longer with us; rest in peace — we went to W.H. Smith and we would get whatever comic or comics we could afford with the little change that we had. That was my introduction into the world of DC., the world of superheroes and, therefore, the beginning of my understanding of who John Stewart was. And the Green Lantern Corp. And Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner and all of these wonderfully detailed and written characters, and also very championed and celebrated. What was your relationship with Green Lantern?
I knew the Hal Jordan Green Lantern from “Challenge of the Super Friends,” the cartoon when I was a little kid. I begged my dad for a Green Lantern comic because I want to read more about Hal Jordan. He comes back with Green Lantern #183…
Pierre: Oh, wow.
With John Stewart pushing Hal Jordan off the cover saying, “Out of my way, has-been.”
Chandler: That just about sums up the show!
It does.
Chandler: [Points to Pierre] That’s what it’s like working with this guy.
I remember getting that comic and being like, “What is going on? Who is this guy?” But the show is really that relationship between these two.
Chandler: What you hold in your hands is pure propaganda.
How do you approach playing Hal Jordan? He has to be a dick, but fans like him, but he’s not evil. That seems tricky?
Chandler: It wasn’t hard. The reason it wasn’t hard was because, when you get a script and you read a script and you read what the script is and you relate to it? It was very easy to see that all dimensions of a human being are present in this character. And as Kelly Macdonald [who plays the town sheriff, Kerry] said in an interview a second ago, she gave it a Shakespearean aspect.
It’s very true, as a lot of shows are, but this one especially. The characters are just so flawed. Their pathologies are so deep and intense. And, of course, you don’t have to show the pathology. In my case, I get to show what’s hiding the pathology…
Pierre: That’s cool, yeah.
Chandler: It also involves being able to make an ass of yourself, which I’m very good at in real life…
I disagree.
Chandler: And, I think, in my acting. What I’m trying to say is, that there was so much humor in it. So much ability for this humor because there was so much darkness in it. And so you can go everywhere — and you can go against a scene when you’re acting it. And it still works for its own purposes. So, everything’s available. And then once you get another actor with you, especially this guy! He’s a boxer, I’m not, but we boxed through this whole thing and it was a blast. We had a great time. I think we tried to share as much as both of us could within this. We were encouraged to by everyone involved. And that’s what gives it, I think, it’s a lightning in a bottle quality. There’s something great about it, I think.
Pierre: Absolutely, bro.
How do you approach John Stewart? He’s a character that means so much to so many people. Also, when John Stewart was introduced in the ’70s, his likeness was based on Sidney Poitier. That seems like a compliment to you. “Who can we get who reminds us of Sidney Poitier to be in this show?” That’s you.
Pierre: Oh, man, listen, Sidney Poitier is one of my heroes. As is James Earl Jones. The list is not exhaustive and it is extensive. Yeah, heroes of mine. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them and everything that they did and contributed to the space and the barriers and the hurdles that they blasted through. So that’s the first point. But how do I go about bringing John to life? Through a lot of revision…
What do you mean by revision? That’s interesting.
Pierre: I think “revision” in two ways: Revision in terms of revising the history of John Stewart. And then, also, once I am creating and developing this character, revising that, refining that, never being satisfied — even until the last scene that we shoot in the whole season. Never being satisfied with continuing to try and get deeper and deeper to who this individual is at their core, just constantly excavating.
I had a teacher once who said, “Strive for perfection, knowing that that’s unobtainable.” I stand by that and I live by that in my career. And also in life because, that way, you have this understanding that it can’t be perfected, but you’re always trying to grow and you’re always trying to evolve. So that’s what this process was like. It was such a joy to have Kyle to be with throughout this process.
As Kyle said earlier today, listen, as much joy as was experienced during this, it was not an easy shoot. Eighty-five percent of this is on location. Sometimes we’re in the middle of the desert in the middle of the summer. We were contending with a lot of elements. But, at its core, we were a family and a unit. And to go through this with Kyle was such a joy. We picked each other up when we needed it and we just had a blast.
You mentioned your career. “Rebel Ridge” rules. Were you surprised how that took off? I don’t know if it did or did not, but did that breakout at all lead to “Lanterns”?
Pierre: Yeah, it’s such an interesting point you make. The conversation, in regards to me and John Stewart, the conception of that conversation was prior to “Rebel Ridge.” But “Rebel Ridge” was such a joy. Jeremy Saulnier. “Blue Ruin” is one of my favorites. You’ve seen that?
I have, yes.
Pierre: I would actually love to see Kyle work with Jeremy, actually. He’s just a phenomenal filmmaker. And to work with Jeremy on that was a blast. We both have an excruciating attention to detail, so we loved each other and we bonded immediately, Jeremy and I.
Season 1 of “Lanterns” premieres on HBO and streams on HBO Max on Sunday, August 16, with new episodes released each Sunday through October 4.