This week has been a hotbed of superhero movie casting rumors. From Karl Urban as the villain in Aquaman to Chiwetel Ejiofor in Doctor Strange and Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke in Suicide Squad, it seems just about all of Hollywood is looking to score themselves a role as superhero or villain. And now, with how rampant and unavoidable social media is, it's easier than ever to get your name in the running.
Case in point, this latest rumor naming Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious) as a possible lead for DC Entertainment and Warner Bros.' Green Lantern. The Gibson-Green Lantern rumor isn't exactly new, but thanks to an image Gibson - or more likely his publicity team - shared via the actor's Instagram account (with the comment, "Rumor has it"), there appears to be a renewed interest in the possibility.
Here's the image in the question, credited to D&R Arts:
Getting an image of yourself as Green Lantern shared some 23,000 times is one way of showing your interest, though it's not necessarily a tactic that will convince anyone at DC/WB. (Then again, it certainly helped Vin Diesel get a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.) However, what this image of Gibson as Green Lantern could do is turn the discussion back toward which Green Lantern will appear in DC Comics' shared movie universe.
For many, Green Lantern is Hal Jordan, a fighter pilot turned superhero and the character most associated with the Green Lantern Corp overseen by the Guardians. He's cocky, a womanizer, and all around party boy turned space cop, which is why it made a certain amount of sense for Ryan Reynolds to play Hal Jordan in DC/WB's failed attempt in 2011.
But Green Lantern isn't so much a character as it is a role or a position. There are a lot of Green Lanterns comprised of all sorts of lifeforms from all over the universe - Jordan just happens to be the first human of Earth to be chosen for the galaxy's most elite police force.
Beyond Hal, the Green Lantern most audiences would be familiar with is John Stewart as he was the Green Lantern and founding member of WB's animated Justice League cartoon from the early 2000s. Stewart is a former U.S. Marine from Detroit who's chosen as a backup Lantern for sector 2814 (Earth's home sector), and in fact, had George Miller's Justice League film happened it would have seen rapper Common star as John Stewart.
So while this might be little more than a cool Photoshop job of Gibson as Green Lantern, it does seem to signify a renewed interest in seeing John Stewart alongside Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman instead of Hal Jordan. And with Ray Fisher already on board as Cyborg, the Justice League could be well on its way to being significantly more diverse than rival superhero team The Avengers.
Which Green Lantern would you rather see star in DC/WB shared movie universe? And what of Tyrese Gibson in the role of John Stewart? Drop us a line in the comments below!
Green Lantern is expected in theaters on June 19th, 2020.
Source: Tyrese Gibson, D&R Arts