Popverse's coverage of Comic-Con International: San Diego 2026 is brought to you by Dark Horse Comics.

You thought the casting in HBO's upcoming Lanterns was already pretty spot on, but recently, fans got to see exactly how much one of the show's leads reflected his character form the Green Lantern comics. That lead would be Aaron Pierre, who of course plays Green-Lantern-in-training John Stewart in the DCU series, and apparently even before he was cast in the role, Pierre was proving his will power.

That is, by showing up to an audition after a major injury.

The topic came up at San Diego Comic Con 2026, where HBO was hosting a special Lanterns panel in Hall H, replete with cast and crew including both Pierre and costar Kyle Chandler, who plays Hal Jordan. At one point in the discussion, Pierre was asked about the physicality of playing an action hero like ex-marine Stewart, and Pierre told a story that got more than a few very worried looks from audience members.

"Just before we started filming," began the actor, "I had [an accident]; my tendon separated from the bone. My bicep all the way up to my shoulder. This was right at the point where I was gonna finally meet Chris [Mundy, showrunner] and Damon [Lindelof, showrunner] and Tom [King, co-creator] and everybody. I remember my team gave me a call and they said, 'Look, you have this opportunity, you are in the final 2 or 3 at that point,' and I had just had surgery. I can't even fully extend my arm. [...] They said, 'Do you still want to do it? 36:34 I was like, don't ask silly questions, let's go.'"

"I just wanted the role so much," Pierre continued, "I love John so much and I think in that moment - and this isn't hyperbole, this isn't exaggeration - in that moment, I'm just like, 'What would John do?' So I walked in there, I gave it my best and got the role. I had a matter of months to rehabilitate before we show and I managed to do it with a fantastic team. I couldn't have done it alone, but it felt so good to know that I was able to rehabilitate in order to be part of this family and contribute in a in a small way to this beautiful, beautiful series that we did."

Lanterns will stream on HBO Max starting August 16. 

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU. Oh, and don't forget our guide to what's coming up for DC projects on the big and small screens.