Is “The Rookie” in danger? Fans Worried After New ‘Superman’ Announcement

As has just become known becomes “Firefly” and “Castle” star Nathan Fillion Starring in James Gunn’s new DCU as Green Lantern and debuting in Gunn’s superhero blockbuster”Superman: Legacy” to give. Especially for fans of the animated DC movies, in which Fillion has lent his voice to the cosmic hero on several occasions, this is a small dream come true (even though he played the Hal Jordan variant of the character there and now slightly less in the DCU heroic Guy Gardner incarnation).

However, the many fans of Fillion’s current series hit “The Rookie” are now looking at his DCU casting with some concern. Could the role of the Green Lantern mean that (former) police officer John Nolan will take a back seat in future seasons or even turn his back on the series, likely jeopardizing the future? The first is certainly not unlikely…

How Big Will Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern Role Be?

The sticking point will no doubt be how big the DC portion of Nathan Fillion ends up being. If anything, the fact that his engagement was announced so early (when it was only the second casting report for “Superman: Legacy” after the main cast duo) indicates that his performance in the new “Superman” adventure becomes more than just a brief cameo, but could even become a slightly bigger supporting actor. In addition, Fillion Guy Gardner would then also have to star in other DCU projects, probably also in the planned Green Lantern series “Lanterns”.

BUT: Guy Gardner will almost certainly not be the DCU’s main Green Lantern. This part will probably be shared between the two most famous incarnations of the cartoon character: Hal Jordan and John Stewart, in whose shadow Guy Gardner was already a bit in the templates, will be at the center of “Lanterns” and appearance from then on also become even more important for the entire DCU. That may be a shame for many Nathan Fillion fans, but for all “The Rookie” viewers it’s a positive thing, Fillion could hardly continue the title role there if he also played a central hero role in the DCU at the same time. However, “The Rookie” could not be spared…

Smaller role for Nathan Fillion in ‘The Rookie’ season 6?

Even if Guy Gardner only appears in a handful of scenes from Superman: Legacy, Fillion’s new job could already have an impact on The Rookie’s already confirmed sixth season. After all, filming such a classic network series with more than 20 episodes per year is a time-consuming, multi-month endeavor that already makes it difficult to fit other projects in alongside it without exhausting yourself, especially if it’s a blockbuster of the magnitude of a “Superman: Legacy”.

The fact that the sixth season of ‘Rookie’ is being delayed, in part due to the ongoing writers’ strike in Hollywood, and probably won’t be filmed until early 2024, could also cause additional problems, as the ‘Superman: Legacy’ shoot should also off during this period So juggling the two will take some serious planning, which might include a slightly smaller role for Nathan Fillion in Season 6 of The Rookie and instead focus even more on other characters from the grand ensemble.

Sender wants to stay with “The Rookie”.

Depending on Fillion’s future roadmap for the DCU, a similar approach could be taken in future seasons if “The Rookie” is renewed beyond Season 6 – which, given the continued success of the series (through streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ now worldwide) should be very much in the interests of American broadcaster ABC. The fact that Fillion has been completely written out of the series should therefore be an absolute stopgap at most and therefore not under discussion for the time beingsurely the complete loss of the protagonist would greatly hurt the said success – or even directly cause ABC to stamp the hit series.

In brief: Even after Nathan Fillion’s DC casting, The Rookie is sure to continue into at least Season 6, and that too (for now) with Fillion as John Nolan. His share could be somewhat smaller in the next seasonto keep him on board at all. However, so far there are no official statements about the possible impact on “The Rookie”.

The sixth season of “The Rookie” is expected to start in January or February 2024 in the US (a time window for Germany, where the fifth season has just started on Sky and WOW and the first four seasons are available on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video can , does not exist yet). However, the cameras will continue to roll as seasons of classic television series usually start on TV while the other episodes are still being shot. Meanwhile, “Superman: Legacy” opens in German cinemas on July 10, 2025.