Green Lantern is coming to HBO Max as one of the next DC TV shows in 2021 and will feature several beloved characters from the massive DC mythology. After being announced to be in the works back in 2019, HBO Max finally took the next step by picking Green Lantern up to series. But it probably came as a surprise to a lot of eager fans when it came to the cast. While no actors are attached yet, the streaming service revealed that GreenLantern's cast will include multiple iconic members of the Green Lantern Corps. From the Golden Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott, to younger members like Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, and Guy Gardner, it’ll be the first time they ever appear in live-action.
While Hal Jordan and John Stewart are currently reserved for the DCEU, it’s still an ambitious move by the creators to bring in this many iconic members from the mythology. The TV show, which comes from Arrowverse mastermind Greg Berlanti, will consist of 10 episodes for the first season that will explore these characters as they protect the universe as Emerald Knights. With HBO Max targeting a 2021 premiere, casting will likely begin throughout the remaining months of 2020. Prior to the series pick-up, not much was known about the show other than that it’s set in the Arrowverse Multiverse on Earth-12.
It remains to be seen if the entire cast will be set by the end of 2020. Given the Coronavirus pandemic, it’s still unclear when production will kick off officially. But with Green Lantern allowing for so many characters to come to life, it’ll be one of Warner Bros.’ biggest DC TV shows that have ever been done. Time will tell what other recognizable characters from the comics will make their way into the series. For now, these are every single confirmed character that will start in HBO Max’s Green Lantern.
Alan Scott
Recognized as Earth’s first Emerald Knight for the series, Alan Scott is best known for being the Golden Age Green Lantern that was a prominent member of the Justice Society of America. While he is a Lantern, his power ring differs from the Corps’ rings. Originally, the ring was fueled through magical energy that isn’t tied with the Guardians of the Universe. But the history behind Alan’s ring was later retconned in order to connect him more with the Green Lantern Corps. Similarly to how DC tackled the multiple Flashes, Alan’s story was reimagined to have him be the Green Lantern of Earth-2. When The New 52 happened, Alan got depicted as a young openly gay man in the Earth-2 series which was a historical moment for DC. It's unclear if this version of Alan will have any ties to the JSA, especially in light of Stargirl that is exploring the iconic Golden Age team.
Jessica Cruz
One of the most recent members of the iconic group is Jessica Cruz who is currently one of the current Green Lanterns. Jessica has not only become a huge fan-favorite quickly, but the heroine has come to represent the struggles of mental health for a superhero as she suffers from anxiety and PTSD. Her path to becoming an Emerald Knight is a bit darker in comparison to her fellow allies. Unlike the other Lanterns, her initial ring came from Earth-3’s Power Ring (their version of Green Lantern) who wielded the Ring of Volthoom. Able to take over someone who is shrouded in fear, Jessica became the new Power Ring. But she eventually breaks out of the ring’s control and while Jessica was trained in how to use its power, she ended up getting a proper Green Lantern ring later on. Aside from giving mental health a spotlight in comics, Jessica has become of the most popular Latinx superheroes.
Simon Baz
Another Lantern who has joined the DC Universe within the recent decade is Simon Baz, the first middle-eastern character to become a Green Lantern. Being Lebanese-American, Simon and his family were constant victims of racist and Islamophobic attacks after the events of 9/11. Having to live an incredibly difficult life as a Muslim man, Simon’s life changed when a Green Lantern ring found its way to him, believing he was a worthy candidate to join the Green Lantern Corps. Simon has for years been an important figure for the comic book culture by being one of the few middle-eastern superheroes out there. Throughout his time in the comics, Simon’s dynamic with Jessica has become a defining aspect of the Green Lantern mythology. Their relationship was born out of Hal bringing them together and assigning them to be the Green Lanterns of Earth.
Guy Gardner
Hal Jordan wasn’t the only candidate when Abin Sur’s ring was looking for his successor as there was another candidate that the ring was choosing from and that was Guy Gardner. Throughout his time in the comics, Guy has been known for being a jock-type in the Green Lantern Corps. But there is more to Guy that meets the eye as he comes from a troubled upbringing that included him being abused by his father. Despite walking on a problematic path, becoming a Green Lantern gave Guy a purpose in life, even if he had some attitude about it. One of Guy's biggest contributions to the DC Universe was being a founding member of Justice League International. With his role in the TV show, a 10-episode season will hopefully help make Guy a more three-dimensional character and get him away from the jock-image he has always had.
Sinestro
One of the most iconic villains in the Green Lantern universe, if not the most iconic one, Sinestro has been mostly associated with Hal Jordan as he holds the ranks of being his archenemy. Even ahead of the recent announcement, Sinestro was the first official character to be confirmed for the TV show. Initially, he was the Lantern to mentor Hal in his early days. Sinestro initially began being a Green Lantern; the high-ranking member eventually gave up on the green energy as he transitioned into yellow which represents fear. Ever since he abandoned the Emerald Knights, Sinestro has single-handed founded the Sinestro Corps, amplifying the presence of Yellow Lanterns in the mythology. Unlike the human Lanterns, this is actually Sinestro’s second round in the world of live-action as Mark Strong portrayed him in the 2011 film.
Kilowog
While most of the show’s line-up consists of human Lanterns, Kilowog will also be showing up with this being the Bolovaxian’s second time in live-action after his role in Ryan Reynolds' Green Lantern movie. Kilowog's job in the Green Lantern Corps is to serve as the trainer to new recruits. Before being a Lantern, Kilowog was a talented genetic scientist on his planet. Anyone who trains with Kilowog is always called a "Poozer", a term he was referred to by his trainer, Ermery. While Kilowog has often been a supporting player in most Green Lantern stories, the TV show will be an opportunity to give the character a bigger spotlight and hopefully more than the comic-relief. Kilowog is currently the only character that'll likely be done through motion-capture/CGI.
More details about the TV show will, without doubt, begin to emerge as actors get cast for these characters, one by one. Now that Green Lantern has a series pick-up, things are possibly going to progress a bit quicker compared to the long wait that fans had to go through after the news in 2019. It's possible that other major characters from the Green Lantern comics will be added later on, anywhere from Star Sapphire to Lanterns of other colors. Given that the series will have a movie-quality-like production commitment, there are so many more aspects to look forward to with Green Lantern.