Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable connective characters in James Gunn’s new DC Universe. After debuting as the abrasive Green Lantern in Superman and appearing in the recently debuted HBO Max series Lanterns, Fillion is now set to bring Guy Gardner into another corner of the DCU: the animated Mister Miracle series.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Fillion will reprise his role as Guy Gardner in Mister Miracle, an animated adaptation of Tom King’s acclaimed comic series. The casting is notable because Guy Gardner does not appear in King’s original Mister Miracle comic.
That, however, appears to be precisely the point.
Mister Miracle is expected to expand the DCU into the cosmic mythology surrounding Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, bringing characters such as Scott Free, Big Barda, Orion and Darkseid into the franchise’s larger narrative. Adding Guy Gardner provides a natural connection between that mythology and the Green Lantern mythology being established elsewhere in the DCU.
King, who wrote the original Mister Miracle comic and is serving as showrunner on the animated adaptation, explained why Fillion’s version of Guy fits naturally into the series.
“We brought Nathan into Mister Miracle’s show,” King said. “He brings that energy to every aspect of it.”
According to King, Guy’s exaggerated personality makes him work even when placed in a dramatically different environment from Lanterns.
The idea could make Guy Gardner something considerably more important to the DCU than simply another Green Lantern. Is Guy Gardner Becoming the DCU’s Nick Fury? The Marvel Cinematic Universe famously used Nick Fury as one of its primary connective characters. He could appear in seemingly unrelated stories, provide a link between different corners of the universe and remind audiences that these individual franchises were ultimately part of a larger world.
The DCU may be developing its own version of that character in Guy Gardner. This certainly points in that direction.
Guy has already been established in Superman. He is expected to play a role in Lanterns, one of the DCU’s major television projects, and now he is appearing in Mister Miracle despite having no role in the source material.
That makes him an unusually useful character for DC Studios. Guy is also particularly well suited to the job. Unlike a character who would need to be heavily rewritten to justify appearances across different genres, Guy Gardner’s personality allows him to walk into almost any situation and immediately create conflict, comedy or both.
He can be a Green Lantern in a grounded police-procedural story like Lanterns, a superhero in Superman, or the loud, obnoxious outsider wandering into the strange cosmic world of the New Gods in Mister Miracle.
And because he is a Green Lantern, his presence in a story involving New Gods and cosmic threats does not feel completely arbitrary. The Corps has an obvious reason to be interested in events occurring on that scale.
The decision to add Guy Gardner also demonstrates something important about DC Studios’ approach to adaptation.
Mister Miracle is based on a highly specific comic book. King’s original series is an intimate, surreal and frequently dark examination of Scott Free’s life, marriage and struggle with depression against the backdrop of the enormous cosmic mythology created by Jack Kirby.
The animated series does not appear to be treating the comic as an untouchable blueprint. Instead, DC Studios seems willing to use King’s story as a foundation while expanding it into the larger DCU.
There is already precedent for this approach. Lobo, for example, was not part of the original Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic, but DC Studios added him to the upcoming film adaptation. The same philosophy appears to be at work with Mister Miracle.
That could mean the animated series will function not only as an adaptation of King’s comic, but also as a significant piece of DCU world-building.
And that becomes particularly intriguing when considering one of the story’s most important characters: Darkseid.
Darkseid plays a major role in the Mister Miracle mythology, making the casting of his voice actor potentially far more significant than it initially appears.
James Gunn has previously indicated that major animated DCU characters can eventually transition into live-action with the same actors providing their voices.
If that philosophy continues with Mister Miracle, the casting of Scott Free, Big Barda, Orion and especially Darkseid could effectively establish the DCU’s definitive versions of those characters.This kind of makes me feel that Mister Miracle may not simply be an animated side project.
It could be introducing characters who eventually become central players in the live-action DC Universe.
That makes Fillion’s Guy Gardner particularly interesting. While Guy may not be the protagonist of Mister Miracle, his inclusion could help establish a bridge between the DCU’s Earth-based superhero stories, the Lantern mythology and its increasingly important cosmic corner.
For now, Fillion is the only actor officially confirmed for the series. DC Studios has reportedly already cast additional voice performers, with announcements expected from the studio.
If those actors ultimately become the live-action versions of their characters, Mister Miracle could quietly become one of the most consequential projects in the early DCU.
And Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner may be the character holding it all together. The DCU may not have found its Nick Fury. It may have found something considerably more annoying. And that’s a good thing.