Lanterns: The Official Podcast | Episode 3, "OutKast" | HBO Max
In Lanterns: The Official Podcast, Juju Green breaks down Episode 3, “OutKast,” with writer and co-executive producer Vanessa Baden Kelly, director Stephen Williams, and Aaron Pierre, who plays John Stewart.Vanessa and Stephen reveal how they built John Stewart's origin story, why the episode is structured across multiple timelines, and how the Guardian interview became a powerful lens for John's identity and experience. They also discuss the Stewart family's approach to raising John, the challenges of making him a formidable Green Lantern, and the performances that brought his family to life.
Then Aaron Pierre joins Juju to talk about the responsibility of becoming the first live-action John Stewart, his approach to John's physicality and stillness, the character's military background, and the emotional psychology beneath his calm exterior.
Plus, J. Alphonse Nicholson shares a behind-the-scenes story about young John Stewart's OutKast rap scene, while Jasmine Cephas Jones recalls filming one of the most challenging scenes of her first day as Bernadette Stewart.
Episode Highlights:
✅ Vanessa Baden Kelly explains how the creative team developed a new John Stewart origin grounded in the Black American experience.
✅ Stephen Williams breaks down the episode's nonlinear structure and how he put the audience inside John's point of view.
✅ The team discusses the Stewart parents, their methods, and the complicated mix of love, fear and pressure behind John's upbringing.
✅ Aaron Pierre talks about the responsibility of portraying John Stewart and the emotional discipline behind his performance.
✅ J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones share memorable stories from filming Episode 3.
Watch Lanterns on HBO Max, and watch or listen to Lanterns: The Official Podcast on HBO Max, the HBO Max YouTube channel, and wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and join Juju Green each week for conversations with the people who made the series.
Produced by OBB Sound.
Youtube Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:59 Vanessa Baden Kelly & Stephen Williams
3:18 Creating John Stewart’s Origin
7:30 Building John’s Story Across 30 Years
10:43 The Guardian Interview
13:51 The Guardians’ Generational Influence
17:03 Bernadette’s Trauma & Motivation
21:28 Putting the Audience in John’s Shoes
24:17 Making the Multiple Timelines Work
27:59 J. Alphonse Nicholson on Young John’s OutKast Scene
30:08 Working With the Young Stewart Actors
32:15 Bringing the Stewart Family to Life
35:31 Aaron Pierre on Becoming John Stewart
39:01 The Power of the Guardian Interview
44:56 John Stewart’s Military Discipline
51:32 Willpower, Fear & Bravery
54:25 Jasmine Cephas Jones on Bernadette
55:49 Outro
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