Even though the Ryan Reynolds-led Green Lantern was a critical and commercial disappointment, DC Comics is preparing to give this emerald-lit corner of its universe a second chance at cinematic glory. A Green Lantern Corps movie has been in development for over three years, and while Hal Jordan will once again be one of the leads, he'll also reportedly be joined by John Stewart, another longtime Green Lantern. So far there's been no word on who DC and Warner Bros is looking at to play John in the DCEU, but Michael Green, who co-wrote the 2011 Green Lantern movie, is hoping that American Gods star Ricky Whittle snags the role. When asked who he would cast as the next Green Lantern, Green responded:
I'll probably get angry texts if I don't say what's in my heart which is that Ricky Whittle would make a fantastic John Stewart.
Six years after Green Lantern failed to kick off a new series of superhero films like Warner Bros hoped it would, Michael Green delivered his second superhero movie tale to the masses, Logan, which was a big hit for the X-Men franchise. While Green acknowledged to Yahoo that he and his Green Lantern writing partners, Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, came up with a lot of ideas for sequels, there are no plans for him to contribute to Green Lantern Corps. Nevertheless, that didn't stop him from naming Ricky Whittle has his choice to play the first big screen iteration of John Stewart.
Previously starring on British TV shows Dream Team and Hollyoaks, Ricky Whittle's first claim to fame in the United States was playing Lincoln on The 100. Now he plays Shadow Moon in Starz's American Gods, which was renewed for a second season. Like most premium cable shows, American Gods has shorter seasons, so it is conceivable that Whittle could have time to work on Green Lantern Corps when he's not hanging out with Ian McShane's Mr. Wednesday. Whittle is also in his mid-30s, which would work for the dynamic that Green Lantern Corps will reportedly have between Hal Jordan and John Stewart, with an older Jordan acting as Stewart's mentor.
David Goyer and Justin Rhodes are co-writing Green Lantern Corps, which has been described as a Lethal Weapon in space-type adventure. Although Justice League featured several Green Lanterns during the battle against Steppenwolf that took place thousands of years ago, so far there's been no set-up for the introduction of the modern day Emerald Knights in the DCEU. Earlier this year, actors like Tom Cruise and James Marsden were rumored to be in consideration for Hal Jordan, but as with John Stewart, we have yet to learn from more official sources who DC and Warner Bros are eyeing to play him.
Green Lantern Corps was previously scheduled for release on July 24, 2020, but given all the changes to the DCEU lineup in recent years, it's unclear if it will still make that date. Check out our DC movies guide to see what else the franchise has coming up.
