‘Lanterns’ Star Aaron Pierre Covers HERO Magazine, and the Director Who Launched His Career Is Doing the Interview

Few actors have had a run quite like Aaron Pierre’s. In the space of a few years, he has gone from a acclaimed supporting turn in a prestige limited series to headlining a Netflix action hit, voicing a Disney icon and leading a DC superhero show on HBO. The ‘Lanterns’ star is now enjoying the kind of attention that comes with a real breakout.

‘Lanterns’ premiered on August 16 on HBO, with episodes streaming on HBO Max. Pierre plays John Stewart, the new recruit paired with veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler. As of late August, the show held a 94% Tomatometer score from 65 critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Now Pierre has landed another milestone. Blackish Press shared images of him on the cover of HERO Magazine, noting he’s featured while promoting ‘Lanterns.’ The black-and-white cover, photographed by Kaan Alexander Olcay, shows him reclining in an open shirt beside a vintage boxing magazine.

Aaron Pierre is the new cover of HERO magazine while promoting his new series ‘LANTERNS’.

📸 Kaan Alexander Olcay pic.twitter.com/qhv2FfBYVE

— Blackish Press (@blackishpress) September 24, 2026

What makes the issue special is who is asking the questions. HERO’s Issue 36, titled ‘Ghost Story,’ pairs Pierre with filmmaker Barry Jenkins for a conversation about his career, his latest work and the path ahead. Jenkins is the director who gave him his big break in ‘The Underground Railroad,’ the Amazon Prime series released in May 2021.

Aaron Pierre covers Hero Magazine 💫 pic.twitter.com/a8bKROz5hW

— asp 💫 (@mufasafp) September 23, 2026

The 2 later reunited on ‘Mufasa: The Lion King,’ with Pierre voicing the young Mufasa in December 2024. Pierre has said his experience with Jenkins shaped how he chooses roles, pushing him to put truth and authenticity above everything else. It’s also a fitting story for an actor who was once told he was too tall to convincingly show emotion on screen.

The issue is packed with other pairings. George MacKay is in conversation with Léa Seydoux about stepping into the world of ghosts, and Austin Abrams sits down with filmmaker Zach Cregger to discuss his latest work.

Pierre’s cover arrives as ‘Lanterns’ continues to find an audience. The series follows Stewart and Jordan as they investigate a murder in the American heartland, in a small Nebraska town. It was created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, with Mundy serving as showrunner, and it forms part of the DC Universe overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran.

The show digs into its hero’s past, too. Episode 3 explores how John was conditioned to be fearless from childhood, and Pierre told TVLine that the character carries “an immense amount of trauma that is unresolved and internalized.” That depth has been a focus of critics, who have praised the way Pierre balances intelligence and physicality.

The role clearly means a lot to him personally. In an interview with Ebony, he described playing Stewart as a responsibility, especially as a father, and he spoke about the symbolic power of the Green Lantern ring. That sense of purpose helps explain why the performance has connected.

The pressure of a big genre franchise hasn’t slowed his momentum. Pierre also led the Netflix thriller ‘Rebel Ridge,’ which topped the streamer’s worldwide chart for 3 weeks in a row, and he played Malcolm X in ‘Genius: MLK/X.’ As of TVLine’s August report, a second season of ‘Lanterns’ hadn’t been officially greenlit.

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