Warner Bros.' Green Lantern: The Animated Series is slated to be released in the wake of the Green Lantern movie—as was recently mentioned by Kofi Outlaw, who attended the Geoff Johns panel at NYCC this past weekend.

Executive Producer Bruce Timm (Batman: The Animated Series) and Producers Giancarlo Volpe (Avatar: The Last Airbender) and Jim Krieg (Fox’s Spider-Man) were on hand at a separate panel, moderated by Geoff Johns, to discuss the series, its style, its story, and its release date, amongst other things. Plot details, concept art, and test footage ahoy.

First, the plot details:

  • Characters that will appear in the first season include: Hal Jordan, Kilowog, the Guardians, Carol Ferris, Sayd, Salaak, Atrocitus, and Zillious Zox. (And that’s just to start!)
  • The first season’s antagonists will be the Red Lantern Corps, led by Atrocitus, though other Lanterns and Corps may show up.
  • Dex-Starr, a fan favorite feline Red Lantern, might make an appearance.
  • Guy Gardner, the most raucous of the four human Green Lanterns from the comic book, might make an appearance, as well.
  • There will be no origin story in the series (perhaps because the movie will establish an origin well enough).
  • Blackest Night, a popular DC Universe comics crossover event from last year wherein dead superheroes and Lanterns rose from the grave, will likely take place at some point in the series.
  • Despite being a children’s show, there will be death(s).
  • Very little of the series will take place on Earth.
  • In a bit of a departure from the comic book, the Green Lantern Corps will have their own vehicles, due to the astronomical distance to some of their missions.
  • The Green Lantern TV show will not be seeing any appearances from other mainstream DC characters such as Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman.
  • Because Sinestro will play such a large role in the movie, the animated series will steer clear of his character…that is, at least for the first season. Apparently, Bruce Timm and company will be building up the anticipation for his character before he debuts on the show.
  • The first season will include 26 episodes, and the first thirteen have already been planned.
  • Five episodes of the series have been recorded, but it’s still too early to announce voice actors.
  • The series will debut near the end of 2011.

Second, here is a gallery of concept art for the show:

[gallery exclude="82464, 82465" link="file" columns="2"]

And last, but not least, the test footage, which depicts Hal Jordan and Kilowog fighting wave after wave of Manhunters. It was bootlegged from the NYCC panel, so we won't show it here, but click the link below if you want to see it:

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Green Lantern: The Animated Series Footage

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“I’m getting too old for this.” Who doesn't love a good Lethal Weapon joke, am I right?

As you can see, the angular, retro visual style (with barrel-chested gentleman galore) is heavily reminiscent of the DC Universe animated shows of yore, including Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, The New Adventures of Batman, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. The major difference, obviously, is that this series will be computer-generated a la Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and not traditionally animated. However, Bruce Timm was quick to point out that Green Lantern, in terms of CGI animation, will be far more influenced by Pixar’s The Incredibles than The Clone Wars.

Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern (John Stewart)

Based on the what little story was revealed at the panel, it’s clear that Timm, Volpe, and Krieg have taken a page or two from Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern run from the past five years, as opposed to, say, the fifty or so years of GL comics that came before. Unfortunately, because the movie is prominently featuring Hal Jordan’s arch-nemesis Sinestro, played by Mark Strong, it seems the TV show won’t be depicting Johns’ greatest Green Lantern storyline, "The Sinestro Corps War". But who knows? Maybe the movies will instead.

In this avid Green Lantern fan's opinion, the concept art and animation both look good, if not altogether great (yet). Frankly, it inspires a lot of confidence that the showrunners have gone with a style that harkens back to the most beloved animated superhero television shows of all time—even if it is by way of computer-generated imagery.

Look for Green Lantern: The Animated Series to premiere at the end of 2011, after the film's release.

Green Lantern the movie will be in theaters on June 17, 2011.

Sources: Geeks of Doom, Newsarama, and IGN