This week has had it’s fair share of comic book movie news, photo releases, and announcements. The latest of those announcements came via DC on Thursday afternoon. Seemingly out of nowhere, it was announced that David Goyer and Justin Rhodes would be joining the Green Lantern Corps film as screenwriters.
This was the first major announcement in regards to the highly anticipated film, which is not expected to hit theaters until 2020, in quite some time. And that was not the only tidbit of information that was released regarding the film. We also learned that the film will star both Hal Jordan and John Stewart as the lead characters. The two Green Lanterns will join forces in what is described as a “Lethal Weapon in space”. You can read more about the announcement here.
But we are not here to talk about a film that is not coming out until 2020. Instead, let’s focus on one that is coming out November 17th of this year, Justice League. That film will see many of the core Justice League members coming together for the first time on the big screen in the DC Cinematic Universe.
We know Ben Affleck’s Batman will be leading the charge in assembling the team, while Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman will be by his side. Recruiting the Jason Momoa, badass version of Aquaman won’t be easy, but we know he will eventually be standing by their side. Then we have the awkward kid, Barry Allen, as Ezra Miller takes on the iconic role of the Flash. The least known member of the film will be Ray Fisher’s Cyborg.
[Kenny]
And of course, we have the whole Superman story. Sure he is dead right now, but we all know he is coming back. I know I was not the only one who saw those specs of dirt levitate above his coffin before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice‘s credits rolled. Plus Superman is kind of a big deal in the DC Universe. Now I think they could get by without him, which you can read about here, but it simply is not going to happen.
But there are two major Justice League members, in the comics, who have not been mentioned for the film. Those characters are Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter. To this point, there has been no talk of Martian Manhunter within this universe. But now we do know that there is not one, but two Green Lanterns out there somewhere.
So that begs the question, will either of them appear in Justice League this year? Even if it is only a cameo, will we get our first glimpse of either Hal Jordan or John Stewart later this year?
To this point, we have gotten no casting confirmation on either character. There has only been rumors and speculation, with nothing concrete. With this latest Green Lantern announcement, Sterling K. Brown has thrown his name into the John Stewart sweepstakes. Tyrese Gibson has been known to want the role as well. As for Hal Jordan, Armie Hammer has long been a favorite choice by fans. And of course, some people will still like to see Ryan Reynolds return to the role, now that he has nailed the role of Deadpool, but I would say that is highly unlikely.
But despite all of that, we do not know if any of those guys, or anyone for that matter, has already been cast. Justice League is well past principle photography, and the odds of a Green Lantern having been cast while that was actually was going on without any word getting out is unlikely, a cameo is probably our best bet.
A nice small scene, maybe even a credit type of scene, can be filmed indoors at any point in time. The scene does not have to be central to the plot but simply serve as the way of introducing fans to one or both of their new Green Lanterns. That is why a scene at the very end of the film, where Batman (or maybe Superman), goes off to do a little more recruiting following the major battle they just went through.
Seeing both Green Lanterns introduced at once in a surprise scene would certainly give the DC Universe some buzz. It will likely come down to whether or not the roles have been cast already, and simply kept under wraps. Since the actual Green Lantern film is not going to be filming for another couple of years, that is no lock.
But something tells me this is going to be a nice little reveal that DC is going to give fans later this year. With Justice League being so big, they will take some pride in keeping the information a secret for so long. It will make for a more genuine and excited reaction from fans upon the reveal. Because learning of a casting in the movie theaters is a whole lot more fun than reading about it online!
So what do you think, will we see one or both Green Lanterns later this year during Justice League? Tell us in the comments!