New details have emerged for the upcoming HBO Max live-action Green Lantern series, and it is reportedly much darker in tone than originally expected. Perhaps the most notable Lantern to appear in live-action was Ryan Reynolds’ Hal Jordan in 2011’s Green Lantern. Unfortunately, that film received lackluster reviews and all but left the franchise dead in the water. Before Warner Bros./DC Films abandoned Zack Snyder’s vision for the DECU, the John Stewart version of the character was meant to appear on the big screen. Stewart was even meant to cameo in Snyder’s Justice League but was cut as to not distract from the upcoming Green Lantern series on HBO Max.
Not much has been revealed about Seth Grahame-Smith’s Green Lantern series, with it being one of the few projects not showcased during DC FanDome. Inspired by the pages of DC comics, the show is set to feature several Green Lantern Corps members from multiple eras, including Guy Gardner (Finn Wittrock), Alan Scott (Jeremy Irvine), Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, Sinestro, and an original character, Bree Jarta (Prema Cruz). The two most famous Green Lanterns—Jordan and Stewart—have yet to be announced. As of now, the series has no official release date.
Per The Illuminerdi, the Green Lantern series will take its cue from HBO Max’s Watchmen and embrace a darker tone. The latter series was critically acclaimed in 2019 for its incorporation of resonant themes to tell its story about modern-day superheroes and the supremacist group, the Seventh Kavalry. Green Lantern’s tone will surely impact not only the series at large but the way it depicts its characters and respective eras.
Green Lantern is poised to span three different decades. For example, Alan Scott—who recently came out as gay in the DC canon—will be a closeted man dealing with the homophobia of the 1940s while Bree Jarta will likely encounter the racism and sexism associated with the 1980s. Jarta is said to be a half-human/half-alien black woman sent to Earth by the Corps to work with the misogynistic Guy Gardner. Having come from a more enlightened planet, Earth’s bigotry will seem more than foreign to her. In addition, Simon Baz’s comic-book counterpart sees him as a Lebanese American whose story touches on post-9/11 fear of Muslim Americans. Jessica Cruz’s story presumably takes place in the same period as Baz and will see her struggle with the same debilitating anxiety and fear associated with her comic-book counterpart.
Green Lantern’s darker tone should also facilitate Sinestro’s character arc. In the series, Sinestro will likely be a top Lantern at the beginning of the series before coming disillusioned by the Green Lantern Corps. The dichotomy between the Corps’ politics and that of the United States throughout the decades could be an extremely interesting avenue to explore. With so much on its plate, Green Lantern can’t afford to be restricted by a lighter, more mainstream approach. As has been the case with most DC projects, darker is almost always better. On top of that, the success of HBO Max’s Watchmen and other adult comic book shows like Doom Patrol bodes well for the Green Lantern series.
Source: The Illuminerdi
