Aaron Pierre is giving fans a glimpse behind the scenes. In a recent Instagram post, the “Mufasa” actor revealed that in September 2024, he suffered a tendon injury that completely detached the muscle from his bone and required him to have surgery.
“Prior to my tendon separating from the bone and my bicep more or less retracting to my shoulder, I was probably in the best shape of my life, and I remember asking God why this has happened,” he said in the video reflecting on this moment.
This injury came a month before he was cast as John Stewart in HBO’s upcoming series, “Lanterns,” an adaptation of Marvel’s “Green Lantern.” While the news left Pierre asking, “Why? ” The actor quickly realized that it was all part of a larger plan.
“I realized that, actually, there was a reason for it. All of that time that I was spending trying to rebuild. I feel like he was keeping me in a locked-in frame of mind,” he continued. “I decided that this was an opportunity for me to become better than I’d ever been before. I believe that God has blessed me with the opportunity to exist. I want to see when it gets dark for me and I want to see what’s beyond that darkness. I’m never scared of that.”
In the cinematic Instagram post, co-directed by Pierre and creatively directed by Teyana Taylor, the actor appears to be showing his road to recovery and preparation for his upcoming role.
“Here is a little insight into my road to recovery, which happened to align with my journey to becoming John Stewart. If nothing else, I hope this can inspire,” he added in the post’s caption.
The upcoming series “Lanterns” reportedly follows “new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland,” per Variety.
Though the exact release date of the project has not been announced, the series is expected to premiere in 2026.
