On top of planning and plotting out the overall slate of upcoming DC movies and TV shows, as well as directing and post-producing his upcoming Superman movie, James Gunn continues to do the (star)Lord’s work of debunking and clarifying myriad rumors about DCU projects both real and imagined. From casting reports to comic source speculation to release date chatter, Gunn targets just about everything, and he’s now addressed a Justice League movie rumor that also supposedly has ties to HBO’s Lanterns series.
Let’s take a look at what we apparently won’t be seeing from James Gunn’s Justice League (assuming they ever come together), as well as the rumors surrounding the big bad the Green Lanterns could be facing off against in the new superhero show.
James Gunn Debunks New Justice League Movie Rumor
After a report surfaced that claimed the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy filmmaker would be writing and directing a Justice League: The New Frontier film, based on the beloved 2004 miniseries from writer/artist Darwyn Cookie, Gunn took to Threads to shed some golden-age light on the matter, saying:
Nope sorry. No truth to this whatsoever. . . . That said I love New Frontier and its magical alternate history is a big influence on DC Studios.
Set betwen the years of 1945-1960, The New Frontier uses its superhero ensemble as a prism for all the political and social issues of the era, and the six-issue series was both a critical and popular success, winning Eisner Awards, Harvey Awards. It was adapted into an animated film in 2008, the second release of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies lineup, with a star-studded cast and Cooke on board as a story consultant and character designer.
We'll get into the main crux of that story lower down, but suffice to say New Frontier would have been a bonkers choice for James Gunn to sink his claws into for a live-action Justice League project. Even if the time period was modern and not a throwback, though that's such a huge part of its appeal. Gunn would obviously nail that soundtrack, but still.
It's very interesting that the director followed up on his initial debunking with the confirmation that he's a big New Frontier fan, and that its alt-history set-up influenced things at DC Studios. So maybe we'll get to see elements elsewhere, such as on an HBO show we already knew we were going to talk about...
How HBO's Lanterns Is Rumored To Be Using The New Frontier's Villain
As numerous and out-there as DC movie rumors get, the timing sync on this one isn't the most commonly seen, considering it involves two completely different formats. In the days before James Gunn was asked about a New Frontier film, fans started getting excited about the possibility of Lanters' newest cast member, the always excellent Garret Dillahunt, playing the aforementioned comic arc's main antagonist, The. Centre.
Conceptually speaking, that's a mouthful, since The Centre isn't your average bipedal threat, but rather a sentient landcaspe also called Dinosaur Island. If anybody can pull off playing an evil island, I gotta give it to Dillahunt.
While nothing is confirmed at this point, the Fear the Walking Dead vet is known to be portraying a "self-righteous, conspiracy-minded man who masks his ruthless ambition behind a charming and calculated façade." And when one fan voiced their speculation on social media, online scoop influencer DanielRPK (whose track record is pretty solid) reponded in kind.
- "Conspiracy onspiracy minded" Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the Centre have a cult on earth? - @drewmacwwe23
- 👀👀👀 - @DanielRPK
Additionally, ComicBookMovie.com also reported hearing grapevine news about The Centre being the villain causing alien havoc in Lanterns. So while it does seem a little batty that an HBO show heavily influenced by True Detective will introduce a sentient island, I'm really hoping that showrunner Chris Mundy goes for broke with weird alien shit here.
Plus, if Dillahunt is lending his voice to The Centre for real on top of playing a human character, that somewhat soothes our worry that the actor's "modern cowboy" character and other castings indicated we wouldn't see many other beloved characters from Green Lantern lore.
Even if it doesn't come to fruition as expected, hopefully we can look forward to more off-the-wall Lanterns rumors in the future that do come true. We'll find out whenever that show pops up somewhere in the 2025 TV schedule or beyond.
Meanwhile, Superman is set to hit the middle of the 2025 movie schedule, and my money is on James Gunn debunking roughly 570 more rumors before it hits theaters.
