It was almost 3 years ago when, thanks to a cryptic Instagram and Twitter post by Dwayne Johnson, fanboys and girls everywhere got all worked up into a frenzy over the possibility of John Stewart/Green Lantern movie.
Much speculation followed when, a some time after, Johnson once again posted a photo of himself and producer Hiram Garcia, in which he praised Garcia’s work and ended with the hashtag #JohnStewartCanStillWhupSupermansAss.
So, naturally, many wondered whether Dwayne Johnson was indeed hinting at the possibility of playing John Stewart/Green Lantern in a movie.
Johnson did confirm that he indeed had a meeting with Warner Bros. CEO about a DC Comics project that was to be announced later, but it wasn’t Green Lantern. As we eventually learned, Johnson is attached to play Black Adam in a movie – the DC Comics supervillain and occasional antihero, who’s also the archenemy of the superhero formerly known as Captain Marvel, Shazam.
But a Green Lantern film is still in the works (just without Johnson as fans initially hoped for). Instead, Warner Bros and DC have now set David Goyer and Justin Rhodes to script a “Green Lantern Corps” project which Goyer will also produce. The film is being reductively described as “‘Lethal Weapon’ in space,” so use your imagination based on what you already know about the “Lethal Weapon” franchise of movies. It’ll star an interracial pairing with focus on Hal Jordan (who’s white) and John Stewart (who’s black) – an African American Marine sniper who joins the Lantern Corps. The film will be an original origin story conceived by Goyer and DC chief Geoff Johns, and will center on Stewart’s relationship with Jordan and the Lantern Corps.
Warner Bros is apparently fast-tracking the project, although no director or cast is attached at this time. Whether Ryan Reynolds will return as Hal Jordan I think is unlikely given how poorly received his Green Lantern film was. I would think WB and DC would want to start over with fresh faces. Plus Reynolds has a Deadpool sequel on his slate.
Goyer is also a director by the way, so there’s a chance that he may direct as well. He directed “Blade: Trinity” which was terrible (Ryan Reynolds also appeared in that by the way, so they have a history together).
This Green Lantern Corps movie is part of the DC Extended Universe, and was initially set for a July 24, 2020 release, but if WB is moving aggressively with it, there’s a chance it will be moved up. The studio hasn’t exactly impressed fans with their superhero properties thus far (Marvel has certainly kept fans mostly happy), so I’m sure WB would like more a critical and commercial slam dunks!
It was also previously reported that a member of the Green Lantern Corp will appear a Justice League sequel. The first Justice League film is set for a November 17, 2017 release.
DC chiefs Geoff Johns and Jon Berg exec producing.
I’ll toss this one at all you comic book experts reading this; especially those familiar with the DC Comics universe of characters. Your thoughts? And who would you cast as John Stewart?
Deadline was first to report the news of the Corps project.