Although Green Lantern Corps member John Stewart has existed in the DC Comics mythology for 50 years, the character got a major popularity boost through the 2000s animated DC TV shows Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, where he was voiced by Phil LaMarr. John has popped in a handful of projects since then, including a scrapped cameo for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but arguably the Green Lantern’s next biggest platform to shine on is nearly here. The animated DC movie Green Lantern: Beware My Power stars Black Adam’s Aldis Hodge as John Stewart, and supervising producer Butch Lukic spoke with CinemaBlend about why the actor was such a good fit for the role.
Ahead of him starring as Hawkman, leader of the Justice Society of America, in Black Adam, DC fans will hear Aldis Hodge as John Stewart in Green Lantern: Beware My Power, which premieres tomorrow, July 22, at San Diego Comic-Con at 6:30 pm PT in Ballroom 20. During my conversation with Butch Lukic, I asked what special quality Hodge had that made him feel like he was the right choice to play John. The producer answered:
I think it’s because of the warmness in his acting, and [he] needed to pull the tough card out. But I think it’s generally his great attitude, plus the fact that he has insight and and inside and out a warm guy, and that’s what John Stewart is.
Green Lantern: Beware My Power is the latest voiceover gig for Aldis Hodge, with his other credits in this field including Happy Feet, A.T.O.M. and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. As Butch Lukic explained, Hodge hit a nice balance between making sure this version of John Stewart felt warm, but was also convincing when it was time for the character to get tough. Beware My Power arrives three months ahead of the actor’s performance in Black Adam, which co-stars Dwayne Johnson, Pierce Brosnan, Noah Centineo, Quintessa Swindell and Sarah Shahi.
Butch Lukic wasn’t the only person who liked what Aldis Hodge brought to the table as John Stewart. I also had the opportunity to speak with Green Lantern: Beware My Power’s writers about Hodge’s performance. First off, Ernie Altbacker, whose many other DC credits include Green Lantern: The Animated Series and the Doctor Who-inspired Constantine: The House of Mystery, had this to say:
He was fantastic. Really right from the first couple lines, I went, ‘They got a great actor to do this.’ [I’m] very happy with it.
Then there’s John Semper, who, along with his extensive work on Spider-Man: The Animated Series, also wrote for Phil LaMarr’s John Stewart on Static Shock. Semper voiced his thoughts about Aldis Hodge’s John Stewart performance, and what the rest of the cast delivered, as follows:
I thought it was great. I had no hand in that, so again, as a viewer, you just sort of go, ‘Oh, he’s playing [Green Lantern]? Wow, that’s nice.’ And I thought the cast was really well put together. I thought the voice direction, something I have a lot of experience with because again, in all of my previous animated series, I’ve always been in the booth. So I listen with a trained ear and I thought the voice direction was spectacular, I thought the acting was spectacular. I’m very proud of it. It’s really a gift because you write a script and you hand it in, and then everybody gives you credit for all the really cool stuff that happens totally without your involvement, like the voice direction and the acting. The impact is enhanced, so it’s like having a dream and then having it realized by really talented people. It’s the best that this industry offers.
Set in the same continuity as Superman: Man of Tomorrow, Justice Society: World War II and Batman: The Long Halloween, Green Lantern: Beware My Power follows John Stewart, a recently discharged Marine sniper, inheriting a Green Lantern power ring and being thrust into a war between Rann and Thanagar that also involves the Sinestro Corps. Aldis Hodge is joined in the Beware My Power cast by Jimmi Simpson as Green Arrow, Jamie Gray Hyder as Hawkgirl, Brian Bloom as Adam Strange, Rick D. Wasserman as Sinestro, Ike Amadi as Martian Manhunter and Keesha Sharp as Vixen, among others. Jeff Wamester directed the feature.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will released Green Lantern: Beware My Power to the public on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Digital on Tuesday, July 26. Looking to later in the year, the fully CGI Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons will be released on October 18, 2022.
