Back in 2019, six years after Cartoon Network canceled it, Young Justice was brought back as a DC Universe original, and nowadays it can be watched with an HBO Max subscription. It was a remarkable example of how a beloved series can return after being gone for so long, but it isn’t the only popular animated DC TV show from the early 2010s that various fans have hoped would be revived. There’s also been support for Green Lantern: The Animated Series to follow suit, and Ernie Altbacker, one of the main writers on the show, is all in for this to happen.
While talking with Ernie Altbacker about his return to the Green Lantern mythology in the upcoming DC movie Green Lantern: Beware My Power (which he co-wrote with Spider-Man: The Animated Series’ John Semper), I noted how Green Lantern: The Animated Series celebrated its 10th anniversary last November, and it’s been a little over nine years since the show was canceled. As such, I inquired about if Altbacker would be interested in taking part in a Green Lantern: The Animated Series revival after all this time, and here’s what he had to say:
Yes! I still have my old ideas from Green Lantern: The Animated Series, characters that I wanted to introduce or stories that I wanted to do. Boy, that would be great. I would love to do that or be a part of it. I haven’t heard anything, but even if it’s just as a fan to watch, I can’t wait. Sooner or later, they’re gonna do it.
Green Lantern: The Animated Series premiered five months after the live-action, Ryan Reynolds-led Green Lantern movie was released. The TV show starred Josh Keaton as Hal Jordan, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kilowog, Jason Spisak as Razer and Grey DeLisle as Aya, and earned a lot of positive critical reception. However, due to the movie’s poor critical reception negatively affecting toy sales, Cartoon Network cancelled Green Lantern: The Animated Series after just one season of 26 episodes. And yet, all these years later, there have been carious calls for the show to be brought back just like Young Justice was, and Ernie Altbacker (whose other DC-related credits include the animated Injustice movie and the Doctor Who-inspired DC Showcase short Constantine: The House of Mystery) would be game for this, even if he just ended up watching as a fan.
So what would a second season of Green Lantern: The Animated Series entail. For one thing, Ernie Altbacker mentioned in our chat that John Stewart, the third human member of the Green Lantern Corps in the comics, would be brought in. It’s also worth mentioning that the Young Justice episode "Encounter Upon the Razor’s Edge!" heavily referenced Green Lantern: The Animated Series, including featuring Razer. However, Young Justice producer Greg Weisman has said that Green Lantern: The Animated Series is canon “adjacent,” meaning that although similar events unfolded on Young Justice’s Earth with those versions of Razer and Kilowog, we still haven’t actually followed up on where we left off with the Razer from Green Lantern: The Animated Series. That’s reason enough to get Season 2 off the ground!
For now, a grand return for Green Lantern: The Animated Series doesn’t appear to be in the cards, but should that change, CinemaBlend will pass along the news. For now, you’ll be able to see how Ernie Altbacker handled a different kind of Green Lantern tale when Green Lantern: Beware My Power, which stars Black Adam’s Aldis Hodge as John Stewart, is released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on July 26.
