James Gunn Admits One DCU Hero Could “Absolutely” Beat Superman (& There Could Be More)

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While speaking on The Howard Stern Show this September (via Deadline), James Gunn teased just how powerful members of the Green Lantern Corps will be in the DCU. Stern revealed that he always believed Green Lantern could beat up Superman, and Gunn concurred, stating, “Absolutely, he’s pretty powerful.” We’ve already seen one Green Lantern in the DCU, and Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner could be the “he” Gunn is referring to, but even more members of the Green Lantern Corps will debut in HBO’s upcoming Lanterns series, introducing even more characters capable of defeating Superman.

Will Superman Fight Green Lanterns in the DCU?

Since both Superman and members of the Green Lantern Corps are steadfast heroes, it seems unlikely that they’ll ever battle each other in the DCU. However, there has already been some proven animosity between David Corenswet’s Clark Kent and Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner in Superman, so it’s possible this could snowball in the DCU’s future. Lanterns, scheduled to hit HBO Max in early 2026, is set to debut even more members of the Green Lantern Corps, including Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), who could also be strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Superman.

Superman and the Green Lantern – namely Hal Jordan’s iteration – have battled each other on many occasions in DC Comics, so it’s very possible these spars could be adapted for the live-action DCU. James Gunn seems to think that a member of the Green Lantern Corps would easily best Superman in battle, and this kind of fight could be explored in Lanterns or the recently-announced Man of Tomorrow. The latter will see Superman and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) go up against a “bigger threat,” which could easily be a rogue Green Lantern.

Guy Gardner showed off some impressive gifts in Superman, being able to use his Power Ring to create constructs capable of carrying out some incredible feats. He could flip tanks, face down a Kaiju, defy the forces of gravity, and more, making him and his Green Lantern Corps colleagues an even match to Superman. It would be thrilling to see this fight play out in the DCU’s future, though Superman and the Green Lanterns are allies, so it may be some time before they battle each other in live-action.

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