During a recent interview, Patton Oswalt revealed that he thinks Glenn Howerton would make the perfect Green Lantern. Best known for playing Dennis Reynolds in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Howerton has made a name for himself within the world of comedy with a slew of both writing and acting credits. Additionally starring in A.P. Bio, The Mindy Project, Fargo, and Archenemy, Howerton has proven time and time again that he has a wide range of acting abilities beyond comedy.
Howerton was close to landing a big superhero role in the past. Although the character of Star-Lord is currently synonymous with Chris Pratt's portrayal in the MCU, this potentially might not have always been the case. Originally, James Gunn has famously reported that if Pratt could not commit to the role, Howerton was his second choice to play Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy. While the role did end up going to Pratt, there has been no mention of Howerton attempting to audition for any other superhero roles in recent years.
However, his A.P. Bio co-star recently suggested to Slashfilm that Howerton would be perfect as a Green Lantern. Exhibiting his knowledge in the field, Oswalt declared that Howerton would make a great Guy Gardner Green Lantern. Check out Oswalt's full explanation below:
"There's actually a character in the DC universe that would be perfect for him. It's not the Hal Jordan Green Lantern but the Guy Gardner Green Lantern. He would be amazing. The whole idea — this would be so brilliant, and if they did it they would have another 'Deadpool' on their hands — the whole point of being the Green Lantern is that you have to be without fear and completely honest. That's the only way you can wear the ring. Having no fear and being completely honest doesn't necessarily mean you're a good person. So the second Green Lantern is a guy named Guy Gardner, who is genuinely afraid of nothing and completely honest, like, 'Oh hey, you gained some weight, dude.' He doesn't understand that there's things you shouldn't do. But he's also an awesome Green Lantern. He's the best one because he truly doesn't have any of that fear. And Glenn would be amazing playing that. The Guardians [of the Universe] are like, 'I don't really know if we made the ring for this reason, but he is the best Green Lantern?' So that would be an amazing character to play."
While this definitely sounds like a role fit for Howerton, it does not seem likely it'll happen anytime soon, as HBO Max is reportedly already working on a Green Lantern TV show starring Finn Wittrock. Even more unfortunately for Howerton, this show is set to focus on the character of Guy Gardner rather than Hal Jordan, meaning it is unlikely that DC would want two Guy Gardner characters competing with one another. After the negative reception of the 2011 Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds, DC has grown cautious of how they use the character of Green Lantern, even replacing his role in Zack Snyder's Justice League with Martian Manhunter. Therefore, while Howerton may not be able to play Guy Gardner in the near future, there are plenty of other Green Lanterns from the Green Lantern Corps that Howerton could portray perfectly.
Alternatively, if Howerton desired, he could quite convincingly take on the role of a villain. After years of proving his ability to portray the increasingly manic and unhinged character of Dennis Reynolds on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Howerton could make the perfect antagonist for Green Lantern instead. Taking on a role like Sinestro is the perfect opportunity for Howerton to prove that he has much more than just comedy under his belt, and would finally give him his glimpse into the world of superheroes.
Source: Slashfilm