Since DC announced that a new Green Lantern film will be released in 2020, there’s been a lot of debate over which character will wield the emerald ring in the DC Cinematic Universe. Most believe it will either be Hal Jordan, the same main character from the 2011 Green Lantern film, or John Stewart, who has been part of the Green Lantern mythos since 1972. The latter has been an especially popular choice due to his notoriety on the Justice League animated series. Tyrese Gibson has been campaigning to Warner Bros for the role, and now rapper Common wants a shot playing Stewart, a character he almost played nearly 10 years ago.
Back when Warner Bros. was developing the George Miller-helmed film Justice League: Mortal back in 2007, Common was set to play John Stewart, but the Writers Strike shut down the production. Now that the DCCU is in full swing, Common told ScreenRant that he would like another opportunity at becoming the Green Lantern. Said Common:
That was one of those things where I was so excited because we rarely see African-American superheroes or people of color as a superhero. I think it would be great for the world to see, and for people to see, and for Hollywood to put that out there, too. But just for the world to see, just for kids to be able to see, for all nationalities to see a person of color as a superhero, too.
The character’s race isn’t the only thing that appeals to Common about the character. Remembering his previous Green Lantern studies in preparation for the role, he also appreciated how John uses his ring’s abilities to look out for his city and its citizens.
John Stewart is from Detroit, so he was this guy that was really for the community, and I really related to that. He used his powers to help people in the community. I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to be John Stewart, the Green Lantern!’ Unfortunately, it didn’t happen at that time. But maybe the possibility is that it could. I would love to.
It sounds like Common has a good handle on what the character is about, and he has a big enough acting resume that Warner Bros would likely at least look at him. He also mentioned later in the interview that he tried on the Green Lantern costume back when Justice League: Mortal was still in production and said he looked cool, so if anything my curiosity is piqued to see how he would look as the Emerald Knight.
Almost anything is better than the CGI costume Ryan Reynolds wore in 2011. Right?
