As Green Lantern is one of DC Comics' biggest legacies, the Emerald Knight has been depicted in live-action, both on the big and small screen. Through the decades, Warner Bros. has adapted several iconic DC characters repeatedly, both on television and in the theaters. One of them is the Green Lantern Corps, which consists of several beloved members that have carried the Green Lantern name. From characters like Hal Jordan, Alan Scott, John Stewart, to Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Jessica Cruz, and Simon Baz, the Emerald Knights are a huge component of the DC Universe.
While Green Lantern is definitely one of the more expensive properties to bring into live-action, the Corps has had their fair share of a presence outside of the comics and animations. One of their upcoming adventures is HBO Max's Green Lantern series, which will feature Alan, Guy, Jessica, Simon, and Sinestro as leading characters. Finn Wittrock will bring Guy to life, with other cast members yet to be announced. On the feature side, Warner Bros. has Green Lantern Corps, which has been in development since 2014 and is reportedly eying a 2022-2023 release date. If the DCEU movie does happen, it will feature Hal and John as the leads, with the latter being mentored by the former.
But while that is yet to come, Warner Bros. has featured the Green Lanterns in multiple live-action TV shows and films over the years. Some depictions were better than others, while certain instances of the Green Lantern Corps were only limited to cameos.
The first time Green Lantern ever appeared in live-action was on the Legends of the Superheroes, a two-part special that aired back in January 1979. The late Howard Murphy played Hal as the Green Lantern of that special. His scenes mainly were about trying to stop Thaal Sinestro, played by Charlie Callas. Since it was more of a family-centric show, Murphy's Green Lantern was heavily comedic, as was Callas' Sinestro. Due to it being in the late '70s, the effects were what they were, while the tone of both specials was incredibly cheeky.
While a Justice League live-action show would have slimmer chances of happening today, the DC team almost had its own CBS series. In 1997, CBS attempted to produce a weekly show based on the team called Justice League of America. Their pilot, which aired as an extended TV movie, aired on December 28, 1997. The group consisted of The Flash, Green Lantern, Fire, Ice, The Atom, and the Martian Manhunter. While Justice League of America never got picked up, Matthew Settle became the first actor ever to portray Guy Gardner. However, the characterization of Settle's Guy drew more from Hal and Kyle, which was only one of the pilot's weirdest aspects.
The Justice Society of America made their live-action debut in Smallville season 9, for episodes 11, "Society," and episode 12, "Legends." The CW ended up airing it as a two-part event, titled "Absolute Justice," which explored the Golden Age group of heroes, past and current ones. While Hawkman, Doctor Fate, and Stargirl were the primary characters they focused on; there were also cameos to past Justice Society members through flashbacks and archived footage. One of them was Alan Scott, who is seen being arrested and sent to jail, with Doug Pinton playing the Golden Age Green Lantern. In the present time, Alan is still alive but is on the down-low after what happened in the 1970s.
Arrow, out of all the Arrowverse shows, included Green Lantern Easter eggs and references the most. From all the times they used Ferris Air to characters like Roy Stewart and Susan Williams, Arrow has definitely tried to incorporate the Green Lantern Crops into the Arrowverse. Despite the restrictions given by Warner Bros., Arrow season 4 did a clever Green Lantern Easter egg in order to establish Hal Jordan's existence in The CW franchise. During the Coast City flashbacks in the Arrow season 4 premiere, titled "Green Arrow," a person is seen wearing an aviator jacket with the name "Jordan" on it, meant to be Hal, but without seeing his face. While Hal isn't someone fans should ever expect to see on The CW, the Arrowverse is instead eying John Diggle as their (sort of) Green Lantern.
While David Ramsey's character started as an original creation for Arrow, Diggle has many similarities to John Stewart and is seemingly an amalgamation of the DC character. While Roy is Stewart's grandfather in the comics, the Arrowverse made him Diggle's stepfather as a way to set up that Stewart connection. Even in the Elseworlds crossover, Earth-90 Flash recognized Diggle, alluding to his doppelganger being a Green Lantern on the alternative Earth. The final Green Lantern set up for Diggle was in the Arrow series finale when he got his ring, even though viewers only saw him find an alien box with something green glowing inside of it. Whether or not the shows will see him as Green Lantern, Ramsey is, more or less, playing John 'Stewart' Diggle.
Smallville wasn't the only DC series to use the Golden Age Green Lantern, as Alan was also established in the Stargirl universe. As Courtney Whitmore took on Starman's mantle by becoming Stargirl, the young heroine also ended up resurrecting the Justice Society of America. The pilot began with a flashback of the original JSA's final battle against the Injustice Society of America, with Alan being one of them. His green energy is seen multiple times, and by the end of their clash, it is meant to be believed that the Green Lantern was killed. During Stargirl season 1, Alan's Green Lantern was one of the objects Courtney took from the JSA Brownstone, while the ring is mysteriously missing. Despite Alan's ambiguous whereabouts, it does seem unlikely he is alive, due to HBO Max's Green Lantern being set to use him as a main character. However, the Stargirl showrunners have specified that is definitely a storyline coming regarding the lantern, which could be in the upcoming second season. Perhaps Alan's daughter Jade exists in this universe and will become the JSA's new Green Lantern?
If Green Lantern Corps does become a reality, it won't be the first time the property has had a feature film. In 2011, before the DCEU was even a thing, Ryan Reynolds starred as Hal in Green Lantern, directed by Martin Campbell. The film follows Hal's origin story as he is chosen as the new protector of Sector 2814 after Abin Sur's passing. Aside from Hal and Abin, iconic Corps members like Sinestro, Kilowog, and Tomar-Re are also present. Green Lantern also featured Hector Hammond and Parallax as the villains, while Sinestro was set up as the antagonist for the sequel. During the post-credits scene, Sinestro puts on a Yellow Lantern ring, foreshadowing his villainous path. Had Green Lantern been a success, it would have likely been the first film of a new shared universe. Due to poor box office results and negative critical reception, Green Lantern 2 never happened.
The latest cinematic depiction of Green Lantern was in Zack Snyder's Justice League, with several Corps members included. During the History Lesson sequence, Yalan Gur, a minor Green Lantern in the comics, gets his live-action debut. When Uxas, before taking the name Darkseid, tried to invade Earth thousands of years ago as he was seeking the Anti-Life Equation. Yalan ends up joining forces with the Olympic Gods, Atlanteans, Amazons, and humans to battle Uxas's army of Parademons. Even though Uxas and his army are stopped, Yalan does get killed by the Apokolips lord, with his Green Lantern ring flying away to find Yalan's successor.
But while Yalan represented the Green Lantern Corps of the past, Zack Snyder's Justice League also includes a member who would be part of the future. During Cyborg's Knightmare vision, he sees the consequences that would come to life if they went through with reviving Superman. Not only does Victor see Wonder Woman and Aquaman's deaths, he witnesses Superman succumbing to the Anti-Life Equation after Darkseid murdered Lois Lane. As they take over the planet, Kilowog's dead body can be seen in the ruins of the Hall of Justice, hinting that he tried to help the heroes at some point to stop defeat Darkseid. However, Zack Snyder's Justice League originally had another Green Lantern as Wayne T. Carr had been cast and shot as John Stewart.
Zack Snyder's Justice League was initially meant to end with Stewart approaching Bruce Wayne in the final scene. Despite having filmed it, Warner Bros. didn't want Snyder to use John Stewart in his film, stating it was because they had plans of their own with that specific Green Lantern, so Snyder had to replace him with Martian Manhunter. Ever since revealing Carr's casting as John Stewart, Snyder has talked more about having to remove John Stewart from Justice League, while also releasing photos from the day they filmed his scene. Snyder did also recently reveal a photo of Carr in the Green Lantern costume during a Q&A. So even if John was never in the film, it doesn't change the fact that an actor was cast as Green Lantern and filmed a scene, with the footage being in Snyder's possession.
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