The cast of James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy is growing with non-Flash quickness, with one of the most exciting additions coming in the form of Gunn’s buddy and colleague Nathan Fillion. The Slither vet is set to take on the Green Lantern alter ego of Guy Gardner, quite the popular character from the comics, which has understandably sparked a bit of worry among the actor’s fanbase, wondering if he’s able to balance his superhero antics with his small-screen work on the ABC drama The Rookie, which was renewed for its sixth season back in April. Not many people could directly speak to this issue, but Rookie co-creator Alexi Hawley spoke up after coming across such speculation on social media.
Hawley came across a news story on Twitter that questioned whether Fillion joining Superman: Legacy would cause any troubles or delays with his commitments to the broadcast network series, and responded to the question with blunt excitement:
Nope!
One has to assume that those putting together the casting deals for James Gunn’s next DC effort were wise enough to make sure the actors would be free to film without any other projects being unfairly ignored. And considering this is a movie about Supes, Guy Gardner’s presence probably isn’t a necessity for the entire stretch from opening to credits. So I’d imagine his schedule was set up with idealized blocks for filming that wouldn’t butt up against The Rookie’s production schedule.
All that said, Alexi Hawley’s take on the situation could change drastically over time, depending on how the upcoming months play out. Not just due to general Hollywood chaos, but specifically because of the ongoing WGA writers strike that kicked off in May, as well as the SAG-AFTRA strike that was set in motion in the first half of July. Without any unionized writers or actors currently able to utilize their efforts, and without any perceived ending for the pair of strikes, it’s somewhat impossible to predict what the next steps will be.
Already, ABC’s fall schedule is similar to other networks in that it’s a sea of unscripted content, from Bachelor Nation content to Celebrity Jeopardy! and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune to the linear return of Dancing with the Stars. So already, it’s clear we won’t be seeing The Rookie following up on its Season 5 finale when the fall arrives. As such, harboring a small sliver of cynical suspicion is perfectly healthy for fans, since it’s likely a slew of projects will jump immediately into gear (or back into gear) once strike deals are made.
In a case like that, will The Rookie necessarily need to postpone filming for Season 6 until it doesn’t clash with Fillion’s superhero work? Or is it the flip side, where his Rookie contract takes precedence, so that his Green Lantern work will need to be filmed during his relatively few off days?
For now, it’s probably best to leave those worries for the future, and to keep the faith that there’s enough Nathan Fillion to go all the way around and back. And if not, maybe Guy Gardner can use his ring to summon up another version of the actor. But then if that’s the case, he might as well make a third copy who’d be able to film Firefly Season 2. Can that ring make a whole other season of TV?
