Aaron Pierre’s first DC role was in a forgotten Superman prequel - not HBO’s Lanterns

Aaron Pierre got his start in the DC universe way before John Stewart/Green Lantern. Most people probably forget (or never even knew) he played Dev-Em on Syfy’s Krypton, back in 2018-2019. The show barely lasted two seasons and vanished into the streaming ether, but Pierre was rocking the role of a loyal House-Zod Kryptonian. So, all this buzz about his Lanterns casting is not even his first DC rodeo.

The superhero world these days is a mix of reboots, recasts, and crossover events that make it difficult to keep track of who played what and when. Pierre’s career is a perfect example. Everybody is talking about him because he landed Green Lantern in HBO’s upcoming Lanterns show, but his first DC gig flew totally under the radar. Krypton might not have set the world on fire, but Pierre’s performance as Dev-Em was showing off his knack for complicated, morally gray characters - the kind of roles where you can’t help but root for the guy, even if he is not exactly the hero.

It is surprising how fast people forget these supporting roles, especially when the franchise machine keeps churning out new stuff. If you look back, Pierre’s time on Krypton did more than just pad his résumé. It laid down some legit roots for him in the DC world, and reminds us how quickly stories and actors can be erased from collective memory when a show gets canned.

That’s why digging into this overlooked chapter matters, not just for Pierre’s legacy, but as a reminder of how the superhero genre handles adaptation, casts for representation, and sometimes just totally forgets its own history.

So this isn’t just about giving Aaron Pierre his flowers. It’s about recognizing how Krypton tried (and kinda succeeded, in its own way) to add some depth and diversity to the Superman lore. And it’s about seeing the bigger picture: How a guy can go from a forgotten supporting part to the center of a massive reboot, and what that says about the unpredictable world of modern superhero franchises.

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Background: Aaron Pierre and the DC migration

Aaron Pierre, born on June 7, 1994, is one of those actors whose training clearly shows. He genuinely knows what he is doing. He went through the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Early on, he started showing up everywhere. One minute, he is killing it on stage in Othello, the next he is showing up in Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad.

Then you have got his jump into TV. He landed a role in Krypton, which, if you missed it, is Syfy’s take on the Superman origin story before Superman was even a thing. It is set two centuries before Kal-El rocketed to Earth. The show is all about the House of El trying to keep it together while their planet is circling the drain - politically, socially, and more. In the middle of all that chaos, there’s Aaron Pierre, carving out his spot in a genre where one casting choice can spark debates that last for years.

David S. Goyer and Damian Kindler created the Krypton series. It dropped in March 2018, and kind of went for that epic vibe, with Pierre bringing gravitas to the show. Krypton tried to do something different. Instead of sticking us on Earth, it zoomed way out and put us right in the middle of Krypton’s politics, ancient beefs, and all that family drama. Seg-El (Cameron Cuffe), who is Superman’s grandfather, takes the spotlight.

Aaron Pierre came in as Dev-Em, a young Kryptonian soldier who is constantly shifting allegiances and a notable engagement with House-Zod, the ancestral enemies of House-El. The character is a wild card pulled from old-school comics, but Pierre gave him actual layers. In one episode, he is a loyal warrior and in the next he is a challenge to deal with.

Aaron Pierre landing this gig mattered. DC adaptations weren’t overflowing with Black actors at the time, so his casting was overdue. Even though he wasn’t the lead, the role asked for a lot: juggling duty, family, and political gray areas.

Critics didn’t give the show much love, but a few sharp-eyed reviewers did shout out Aaron Pierre for making Dev-Em feel like a real person, not just another comic book footnote. Krypton got axed after two seasons in 2019. Still, this was the first time we saw Pierre as a DC character, years before Lanterns on HBO was even a thing.

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The case of the forgotten Superman prequel

The phenomenon of Krypton being largely forgotten is a product of several factors:

First off, it landed on Syfy, a network with limited reach among genre fans. If you’re not on The CW with the rest of the Arrowverse crew, or on every streaming service, you are shouting into the void. Critics liked some of the world-building and the effects, but the series failed to build sufficient ratings. No one was talking about it after the first couple of episodes, and it got canned after two seasons.

The story is set way, way before the whole deal about Superman. So, it’s technically DC, but it’s not like Clark Kent is showing up to save the day. The show tried to drop in some fan service like live-action Lobo, but at the end of the day, most fans just want to see Superman, Justice League, or maybe Green Lantern punch stuff. Krypton was too far off the main timeline for people to care.

While Aaron Pierre did his thing, he wasn’t exactly front and center. Plus, without reruns or a big streaming push, nobody is stumbling across Krypton now. Newer fans, especially the ones hyped for Lanterns, probably have no clue Pierre was even in the DC universe before. Out of sight, out of mind - that’s just how it goes.

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Intersection with the new DCU: From prequel to prestige

Aaron Pierre went from being Dev-Em on Krypton to landing the role of John Stewart in Lanterns. Back in his Krypton days, nobody knew who the guy was. Now, he is at the front of a massive DC reboot, even though the whole casting process is competitive. The Hollywood Reporter said it was one of the most "intense" casting hunts DC has done lately. It involved screen tests with respected actors such as Stephan James and intense consideration of the character’s cultural and representational significance.

James Gunn, who’s running the whole DC show now, even shouted Pierre out for his audition and work ethic. According to a Movieweb report, Gunn said Pierre's casting was finally on after:

“A long and grueling series of auditions.”

Lanterns is getting the red-carpet treatment as one of the big-deal shows in the Gods and Monsters saga. They are gunning for that moody energy, but with aliens and cosmic cops hanging around Earth and beyond. Lanterns is the real deal, and Aaron Pierre landing this gig is not just a pat on the back for his past work. It could be the thing that shakes up the genre.

So, circling back to Pierre’s Krypton era, people act like it never even happened. Studios and fans just erase it when it comes to franchise history. But all these “forgotten” roles are where actors cut their teeth, where styles get messy, where stories figure themselves out before they go mainstream and official.

If you ditch Krypton and Pierre’s first rodeo with DC’s whole universe, then there is no way his jump to John Stewart would have been this quick or this solid.