Josh Brolin Reportedly Offered Hal Jordan Role in DC’s ‘Lanterns’

(Left) Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck in Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure ‘Dune: Part Two,’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise. Copyright: © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Right) DC Comics’ Hal Jordan/Green Lantern. Photo courtesy of DC.com.

Preview:

Josh Brolin may play Hal Jordan in DC’s ‘Lanterns’ series.
He’s not officially attached yet.
Damon Lindelof and Chris Mundy are among the producers of the new show.

July brought word that the long-gestating DC Studios TV series for HBO based on comic book property ‘The Green Lantern’ entitled ‘Lanterns‘ is officially greenlit and putting the pieces together.

With DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran as executive producers (though not showrunners –– see who is below), the show received the go-ahead for eight initial episodes in a straight-to-series order.

And if current reports pan out, we may know one person who would be starring in the series, as a site called Nexus Point News has heard that Josh Brolin has been offered the role of Hal Jordan.

While reporter Jeff Sneider has also heard those rumblings, here’s where we point out that none of this is official yet and is currently still more rumor than fact.

Brolin, of course has had both good and bad experiences in the comic book genre –– ‘Jonah Hex’ didn’t turn out so well, but he saw big success playing Thanos for Marvel. But this could be an exciting new role for him.

What’s the story of ‘Green Lantern’ in comics form?

DC Comics’ Green Lantern. Photo: DC Comics.

Created in its first incarnation (a Lantern named Alan Scott) in 1940 by Martin Nodell and Bill Finger, the concept of the ‘Green Lantern’ comics is that of a super-powered, police force, battling evil doers with rings that allow them to channel energy into different forms. There are many Lanterns, who patrol the known and unknown universe.

‘Green Lantern’s history on screen has been seriously mixed. Though different takes on the character have flourished in animated movies and series, their live-action counterparts have had less luck. Ryan Reynolds played the Hal Jordan version in a 2011 movie that didn’t triumph at the box office, and there have been fleeting glimpses on the small screen.

Even Zack Snyder didn’t manage to realize his chosen Lantern –– John Stewart –– in his mammoth Snyder Cut of ‘Justice League’. Despite shooting a cameo with Wayne T. Carr as Stewart, Warners asked him to remove the character because of the studio’s own plans. In the end, Snyder swapped in Martian Manhunter.

(Center) James Gunn and the cast of ‘Superman.’ Photo: James Gunn’s Instagram Account.

Gunn has Nathan Fillion playing the Guy Gardner incarnation in his ‘Superman’ movie, which lands on July 11th next year.

And the show had been in development before Gunn and Safran made their big announcement. Back in 2020, ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ Seth Grahame-Smith hopped aboard to write and run what HBO Max (as the streaming service was then called) was picturing its most expensive series to date, a space-set ‘Green Lantern’ drama whose focus would be the Alan Scott and Guy Gardner iterations of the character among the first and most popular versions.

‘Lanterns’ will follow the Hal Jordan and John Stewart characters, as new recruit Stewart and Lantern legend Jordan are described in the latest official synopsis as “two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.”

Who is working on ‘Lanterns’?

(L to R) Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart from DC Comics. Photo: DC Comics.

Chris Mundy, whose resume includes stints on Netflix’s ‘Ozark’ and HBO’s ‘True Detective: Night Country’, is showrunner on the new series, working alongside ‘Watchmen’s Damon Lindelof and DC comics writer Tom King (whose ‘Supergirl’ comic is the basis for the new movie featuring the character).

And, according to Jeff Sneider, there have been talks for Lindelof’s ‘Watchmen’ collaborator, director Stephen Williams, to handle the first episode of the new series.