Even casual fans know a lot about Superman already ahead of James Gunn’s upcoming film named for the character. He’s starred in plenty of films and TV shows, including some very recent releases. Lois Lane and Lex Luthor? We know them too. But what about Superman‘s support team that’ll be introduced in the film as the Justice Gang? In a new profile, Nathan Fillion (Green Lantern Guy Gardner), Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl), and Edi Gathegi (Mister Terrific) shared a bit about what to expect from their characters.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Fillion cuts to the chase: “If you want to know something about Guy Gardner, know this: he has a bowl cut and he’s into it.” As a member of the Green Lantern Corps, he has extraordinary powers, and he’s been tasked to use them to protect Earth.
However, as Fillion put it, “If you have an emergency and you need a Green Lantern, this is the last one you want.” He also explained the character is fearless (or foolish) enough to think he can take on Superman, and as Gathegi futher explained, “Guy Gardner’s famously an asshole, so he’s not really liked by anybody except for Guy Gardner, which is really fun.”
Comic relief for a Fillion role makes sense. The other two Justice Gang members take things a little more seriously. As Merced explained it, Hawkgirl is a “badass” who’s in touch with her alien roots but is also “a modern girl.” She won’t get too much of a spotlight in Superman, but Gunn is bringing Hawkgirl to season two of Peacemaker alongside Fillion’s Guy Gardner, which Merced called a “more blatantly comical” context for her character.
As for Mister Terrific, Gathegi described him as “one of the most philosophically compelling heroes in DC. He’s an atheist who believes in justice.” He’s also notably “unemotional,” the actor said.
“I did have my ideas of how to play the stoicism of this character, and then I found myself in these scenes going, ‘This feels a little psychotic’ … I think in the doing of it, we found a lot more color and more complexity and just more humanization.” Gathegi also noted that like Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl, his character is slated to return in DC projects beyond Superman—though he didn’t specify where or when.
Superman opens one month from today: July 11.
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