How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Nathan Fillion
Fillion played the wisecracking mystery novelist Richard Castle in ABC's crime drama 'Castle' and stars in ABC's 'The Rookie' as John Nolan, a forty-something who navigates his midlife crisis by joining the LAPD. Of course, to sci-fi fans, Fillion will always be Captain Mal Reynolds from 'Firefly,' the short-lived but beloved space Western that has kept him a staple at comic conventions for over two decades. Though 'Firefly' lasted just one season in 2002, its cult status has endured, cementing Fillion as a fan-favorite in the genre world.
Now he's stepping into an even bigger universe: the DC Universe. Fillion plays the role of the Guy Gardner / Green Lantern (complete with the iconic bowl cut) in James Gunn's 'Superman,' a highly anticipated reboot hitting theaters on today.
'You got to be really lucky,' he says of his 30-year career. 'It's just not up to you whether or not you stay relevant and popular and on TV and in movies.'
Living close to the hills in Hollywood, Fillion's ideal Sunday involves relaxing at home, catching up with his favorite people and some late-night gaming. Here's how he'd spend a perfect day in the city.
7:30 a.m.: Greet my cat and make some art
I much prefer waking up to sunlight than an alarm. I like having open curtains so the sun comes in, I wake up and feel awake, whereas if an alarm goes off in the dark, I don't. My cat doesn't sleep in my room, but every morning when I wake up, he's at the foot of my bed. This is Bowie. I named him Bowie because he has heterochromia: one blue eye, one gold. He's massive, 25 pounds, a Norwegian Forest Cat and Turkish Angora. He's great about not waking me up, which I appreciate. Then he follows me around while I make my coffee — creamy and sweet, like my cat. I'll sit in my kitchen — I've got nothing but birds chirping and the sun's coming in — doodling for hours if I'm allowed. I say 'doodle' instead of 'draw' because my work is abstract, just black ink on paper, but only with the right pen, ink and paper. It's an ASMR thing.
9 a.m.: Eggs benny at Sweet Butter
I love eggs for breakfast. I will do a classic scramble and toast with a little bacon or some sausages. But if I really want to be treating myself, it's eggs Benedict. There's a place called Sweet Butter down on Ventura Boulevard, and they do a real nice eggs benny.
10 a.m.: A hike with a view (and a rainy day contingency plan)
After breakfast? A hike. I live close to the hills in Hollywood. You're up there, you're in nature, you're seeing animals, you're seeing the birds. You're just out there, looking out over the city. It's better for your body to move a little bit after you've got some food. If it's a rainy day, all bets are off. You'll find me at the IPIC Theaters because of their luxurious seats and their incredible food, seeing a matinee.
12 p.m.: Nothing beats a backyard hang
I love having friends over. I've got a really beautiful backyard. I just had some friends over and their three-year-old twins. We threw them in the pool, and we made pork ribs. We had an incredible salad with some roasted tomatoes. We made corn on the cob. It was perfect weather. We found some shade, and we just sat there for hours and ate and laughed. And that's a fantastic way to spend a Sunday, with people that you don't get to see very often. Los Angeles is a beautiful city, but it's rather spread out and gathering can be a little bit difficult. So when people make the time, it's really nice.
4 p.m.: Channel my inner Marie Kondo
My house has too much clutter, so lately I've been trying to pick out a room or a closet or a drawer, and I'm organizing everything and getting rid of anything I don't use or don't like. Just trying to declutter the house — that's something I've been engaging in in the last month. Do I enjoy it? I don't enjoy the process. I do enjoy the results. And also just the inventory, knowing what you have. Oh, I've got these. I don't need to buy any more of these. I got five of them in the back here.
6 p.m.: Sushi and streaming
Sunday nights are for ordering in. There's a pho place, a ramen place and Iroha Sushi, my favorite sushi in the city. And LALA's Argentine Grill. And [Sunday nights are also] for binging television. And right now we just finished binging 'From.' [Editor's note: Fillion is notoriously private and didn't state who 'we' is.] Super scary, and we love being judgmental of the parenting done by the one couple that have their kids there with them. They really let their kids run around unsupervised in this horror town. Also 'Invincible' and 'Landman.' We're making our way through those.
9 p.m.: Answer the 'Call of Duty'
In the very late evening, I have a group of about 25 guys who have been playing Xbox Live together for about 20 years. We do 'Destiny 2,' 'Halo' and 'Call of Duty.' Some different games get sprinkled in now and again, but it's mostly just those top three. There's a text thread, and you'll just say, 'Hey, I'm jumping on for about an hour.' Or sometimes we'll play late into the evenings, and we catch up, we laugh, we chat and maybe twice a year, we gather. I say, 'This is my last game because I'm getting tired,' and I just roll into bed and wait for the next Sunday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Tyrant
37 minutes ago
- Geek Tyrant
How Dark Gritty Reboots Paved the Way for Today's Lighter Escapism in Cinema — GeekTyrant
For years, Hollywood loved its dark, grounded reboots. But times have changed, and so have audience tastes. A recent video essay by Pyramid Peak takes a deep dive into why the bleak tone of early 2000s blockbusters has shifted toward something lighter, more hopeful, and even escapist, like Superman . After September 11, 2001, American audiences gravitated toward stories that reflected their fears and uncertainties. Movies embraced gritty realism, and no franchise exemplified that better than Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. 'You can imagine just how incredible it was to see this in 2005 for the first time audiences saw a Batman who looked like he belonged in our world and faced dangers that felt almost too real. 'Needless to say Batman Begins was a massive success to critics and general audiences the movie's dark and gritty tone felt like a breath of fresh air.' Following that, other franchises leaned hard into the 'realistic' approach, turning comic book worlds and action sagas into moody character studies. But that was 20 years ago, and as Pyramid Peak explains, that tone no longer resonates the same way: '20 years later the reboot doesn't pack the same punch. So what happened to the dark and gritty era? Right now we're living in a world of constant noise a million channels of conflicting information are all shouting at once. 'That overwhelm might inspire stories where the hero is someone who cuts through the chaos sees the bigger picture and finds a clean focused solution a narrative where all the threats are secretly connected and one brave person untangles them giving us the simple clarity we crave.' This shift is more than just stylistic. It's a reflection of our cultural mood. Back then, villains were symbolic. Today, the issues feel personal and systemic. As Peak notes, future stories might even tackle wealth inequality head-on. 'If another global recession makes wealth inequality the popular issue of the day, the real enemies might be the rich, the powerful the out of touch elite. We could see a resurgence of stories about the common person rising up against unchecked greed and corruption and a generation dealing with the housing crisis and endless inflation would connect with the hero who's dealt a crappy hand but make something of it.' The era of gritty antiheroes might be behind us, replaced by characters who bring clarity in chaos or challenge corruption head-on. In other words, escapism is evolving, and Hollywood will follow wherever our cultural compass points next.
Gizmodo
3 hours ago
- Gizmodo
James Gunn's ‘Superman' Hall of Justice Murals are Filled With Deep-Cut DC History
If you saw the new Superman, chances are you caught that brief glimpse of the mural in the Hall of Justice honoring the 300 years of metahuman lore James Gunn's new DC is founded on. While there's been speculation about which characters were fleetingly depicted, Gunn has since shared the mural online for fans to pore over themselves and guess accordingly the who's who of this new DCU. As these are, indeed, some deep-cut characters, we've analyzed the data and are at least 75% sure we've identified each hero of yesteryear officially canonized. Here's our guesses and guide from left to right. You asked for it, you got it. Here's the full mural honoring the History of Metahumans in the DCU adorning the Hall of Justice in #Superman. — James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 25, 2025If we haven't missed our guess, the first hero to exist in the DCU is Sister Symmetry, a relatively new creation introduced in the pages of Justice League Dark back in 2019. Technically an enchanted cloak with a revolving door of alternating hosts who wear it, the entity possessed the Tarot card-reading soothsayer, Madame Xanadu, which, as you can see in the mural above, the character is haloed by. Not a bad start for this brave new world with such people in it… Next up is Silent Knight, the occasional time-traveling medieval hero from sixth-century Britain introduced in the very first issue of The Brave and the Bold in 1955. Created by Robert Kanigher, the character is secretly Brian Kent, the son of a feudal lord killed in a jousting tournament. While the character has had adventures with King Arthur, Morgaine Le Fey, and the Knights of the Round Table, his namesake derives from his refusal to speak while wearing his red and white suit of armor so as not to betray his secret identity to anyone—even his lady love, Celia. An Amazon exiled from Themyscira for her poor behavior, Exoristos traveled the world for several years, becoming something of a legend for her numerous adventures—including one notable chapter in which she was turned into a vampire by Cain, the first murderer of the Bible, who also hosts his own horror anthology published by DC Comics. Happily, she would eventually find herself back in her fellow Amazons' good graces after participating in the American Revolution. Good for her! First appearing in Action Comics #23 in 1940, the hero known as Black Pirate was secretly Jon Valor, a privateer working under the King of England who fought against his arch nemesis, the wicked Don Carlos, sometime during the 16th century. Another occasional time traveler, Valor was once brought to the year 3786 by the wicked Epoch. His ghost would also become a notable supporting character in the pages of James Robinson's Starman during the 1990s. A Paul Revere-inspired hero from the American Revolution (presumably putting her in contact with Exoristos, above…), Bess 'Miss Liberty' Lynn would also be spirited away to the year 3786 by Epoch, where she would meet her colleague, Black Pirate. As you can see, a pattern begins to form… Though we're not 100% certain, the crouched character below Miss Liberty appears to be Max Mercury in his 'Whip Whirlwind' disguise. Perhaps he had to rebrand himself as a new hero after his secret identity was exposed by a sitting president? (See below…) The buffalo-masked Super-Chief was once the (Iroquois) warrior, Flying Stag, who was granted a powerful amulet by the (Algonquian) spirit, Manitou, after falling helplessly into a pit. Over the years, the amulet would fall into the hands of three other young men who'd take on the same mantle for opposing purposes. Essentially DC's answer to Zorro, the man who would become El Diablo was once the improbably named Lazarus Lane, a bank teller who was (also improbably) struck by lightning while escaping a band of thieves. Luckily, a Native American shaman named Wise Owl would nurse him to health, inspiring him to begin his campaign of revenge. After some debate and deliberation, we really can't agree on who this shirtless pugilist is meant to be. The quick-to-violence private detective, Slam Bradley, is a good bet, though he boasts no metahuman powers himself. As another Amazing-Man appears further along the mural, the character may also be the original Centaur Publications hero who slipped into the public domain and also didn't like to wear a shirt, ever. A soldier believed to have been killed in WWI, pilot Rip Graves became a masked crimefighter in WWII called the Ghost of Flanders, who operated in a subterranean base beneath the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Naturally, his calling card is a red poppy to commemorate the Second Battle of Ypres at Flanders Fields. The Golden Age Sandman was, naturally, Wesley Dodds, a crime-fighting hero with no metahuman powers of his own but who wielded a gas-firing handgun that could put his enemies to sleep. Debuting in New York World's Fair Comics #1 in 1939, the Sandman would later enjoy his own series, Sandman Mystery Theatre, in the '90s. Olympian-turned-janitor Will Everett became Amazing-Man after a lab explosion granted him the power to mimic the properties of whatever substance he touched. Unfortunately, J. Edgar Hoover revealed his identity to the public sometime in the 1950s, forcing him to step down as a superhero, so he shifted his sights to furthering the Civil Rights Movement. Debuting in Action Comics #1 alongside Superman, the crime-fighting magician Giovanni Zatara could essentially manipulate reality in any way he pleased by speaking backwards. During his (supremely entertaining) golden age adventures, Zatara had a penchant for bringing inanimate objects to life and scaring the hell out of petty criminals. He's the father of his much more popular crime-fighting magician daughter, Zatanna. Introduced in the very first issue of Boy Commandos in 1942, the patriotic hero Liberty Belle—coincidentally named Libby Lawrence in her civilian life—would gain enhanced speed, strength, and stamina each time the Liberty Bell was struck. As her Wikipedia page notes, 'some believed the sonic vibrations of the bell triggered a metahuman gene,' while others believed it was due to her mystical connection to the Spirit of America shared by fellow heroes Uncle Sam and General Glory. Rejected from the police academy, Jim Barr instead got a job in ballistics, where he designed a conical helmet allowing him to fly. Christening himself Bulletman, Barr would then build a second helmet for his girlfriend, Susan Kent, who took on the mantle Bulletgirl. The two would go on to become comics' greatest firearm-themed crime-fighting power couple. An obscure golden age hero with super speed, Max Mercury—who went by a number of aliases over the years, including Windrunner, Whip Whirlwind, and Lightning—would eventually be reinvented by Mark Waid as a mentor to his fellow 'speedsters,' Wally West and Bart Allen (the third and fourth 'Flash,' respectively). The heroes TNT and his sidekick Dan the Dyna-Mite are secretly chemistry teacher/track coach Thomas N. 'Tex' Thomas and his favorite student, Daniel Dunbar. While playing around with radioactive salts one day, the pair discover they've been charged with negative energy. Designing a pair of rings to keep the energy dormant until they've been touched together, Wonder Twins-style, the duo embark on their campaign against the forces of evil with the power to generate heat and electricity, respectively. It's pretty obvious why James Gunn picked these guys. Debuting in Police Comics #1 alongside her fellow crimefighters Plastic Man and the Human Bomb, the scantily clad Phantom Lady is secretly Sandra Knight, the rebellious daughter of a U.S. senator. Utilizing the power of black light projectors to blind her enemies, Phantom Lady would go on to become a founding member of the Freedom Fighters alongside the diminutive Doll Man, the illuminating Ray, and the aforementioned Uncle Sam. Formerly the futuristic leader of the Atomic Knights, the heroes of a post-apocalyptic future in which all animal and plant life has been destroyed, Gardner Grayle was later retconned to exist in the present era, where he joined the Seven Soldiers of Victory as the armored, raygun-wielding Shining Knight. The antecedent to the better-known B'Wana Beast, Freedom Beast was Dominic Mndawe, an activist fighting against apartheid in South Africa with the ability to fuse different animals together into ungodly chimeras. He made his live-action debut in an episode of Titans, where he was played by actor Nyambi Nyambi. Former world-class heavyweight boxer Theodore 'Ted' Grant would find a second life dressing up as a cat and fighting crime on the streets of Gotham as the two-fisted hero, Wildcat. Not unlike Popeye, his unique combination of traits—i.e., being a crotchety old man who loves to fight while dressing up like a cat—makes him an especially memorable character. Vibe! We all know Vibe by now, right? The breakdancing metahuman hero of the 1980s who became the second lead on the CW's Flash TV series… …which brings us directly into the 1990s with Gunfire, a gun-toting vigilante who debuted in Deathstroke Annual #2 during DC's ill-fated Bloodlines event—a company-wide crossover meant to introduce no less than 24 brand-new superhero characters to the DC Universe, yet not a single one of which stuck around longer than a few months (barring Garth Ennis's Hitman, who still pops up occasionally). Finally, the last member of the mural appears to be the Justice League's own financier, Maxwell Lord, formerly played by Pedro Pascal in Wonder Woman 1984, but now played by James Gunn's brother, Sean Gunn, in Superman. We'll see where this leads down the line. So, what do you think of the DCU's superheroic heritage? Do you think we misidentified anyone? And just who might that one shirtless guy be? Let us know in the comics! I mean, the comments! Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
James Gunn on How Peacemaker's Perception of Superman Has Changed
Warning! Minor Spoilers for Superman follow. James Gunn and the cast of Peacemaker stopped by IGN's studio at San Diego Comic-Con today, where Gunn revealed some new info about what to expect in Season 2 of the series and where Christopher Smith/Peacemaker is in his life... including how he feels about Superman following the events of the movie. John Cena makes a brief cameo as Peacemaker in Gunn's recently released Superman, where he's seen on a talk show, giving a litany of reasons he's never trusted Superman. So did the end of that movie change his perception of the Man of Steel? Said Gunn: 'I think that Peacemaker probably admires Superman a little bit more than he did.' But Gunn notes there is a bit of a murky area there, because as we see in Peacemaker Season 2 trailer, Chris is trying to join the Justice Gang in Season 2. As Gunn put it, 'We see him in the movie and he's talking crap about Superman and I think he probably admires him a little bit more than he did beforehand [now], but also he really wants to get in with the Justice Gang. So he's not going to say any more mean things about Superman knowing they're his pals.' As for his previous statements about Superman, if they were brought up, Gunn said Peacemaker would 'walk it back. He's got no backbone with stuff like that.' Regarding his overall approach to Season 2, Gunn explained, 'I think the theme of Peacemaker Season 2, if anything, is about redemption. This is a character who knows he did wrong in the past. He has changed dramatically from Season 1. The one thing I didn't want to do is have Peacemaker act exactly like he did at the beginning of Season 1. We saw dramatic things happen to him in the way he's connected with other people in Season 1, and he has changed because of that. His friendship with Leota Adebayo has changed him completely. And now this is a new Peacemaker who is struggling to try to be the best person he can be. Often failing, but really trying his best to do that, and then all of a sudden his past won't let him go, whether it's his relationship with his father, who's now gone, or his relationship with Rick Flag Jr's dad [played by Frank Grillo]. So it's really about that struggle about looking for redemption and also looking for love.' On that last point, Gunn elaborated, 'There is a love story in this. The first season was about the relationship between Leota Adebayo and Peacemaker. This in a lot of ways is about Peacemaker and Harcourt and their relationship.' Among the additions to Season 2 is Sol Rodríguez as Sasha Bordeaux, a character primarily associated with Batman in the comics. Rodríguez said she felt 'Sasha's essence is still there from the comics, but she's bringing new vibes,' and that when it comes to the DCU's eventual version of Batman, 'She has nothing to do with that.' Though who's to say if Gunn was joking or not when he replied, 'Yet!' to that statement about Sasha and Batman having no connection. When Rodríguez added she very much didn't know who will eventually be playing the DCU's version of Batman, Gunn then added, regarding all of the fan speculation, 'I don't know who's playing Batman!' Solve the daily Crossword
