Unused concept art for Zack Snyder’s Justice League reveals how John Stewart’s Green Lantern could’ve looked like if the director was allowed to feature him in the movie. Snyder has revealed that he clashed with Warner Bros. during the production of the DC team-up epic as he wanted Stewart to make his live-action debut in the film, but the studio vetoed the idea. He was so furious over the decision that he threatened to quit, but ultimately decided to continue on for the sake of the fans.
It seems that his plans to make use of Stewart got to the point where concept art was mocked up to illustrate how the Emerald Knight could appear, though. Industry artist Jojo Aguilar has now shared some of his work on Justice League on social media and while his pieces for Martin Manhunter, Joker and Granny Goodness are interesting, the most attention-grabbing of the images he posted was his depiction of Stewart.
In his caption, he gushed over his time being involved with the production. “This was the best experience in my career working with [Zack Snyder],” he said. “I’ve worked a long time and by far he was the most professional, most personable, and Coolest! and thanks [Jay Oliva] for introducing me to him.”
Unfortunately, Aguilar has yet to reveal which actor he based his design for Stewart on, something that fans are eager to know as this could tell us who was the top pick to play the hero in the DCEU. It’s believed that Snyder wanted to get Moonlight star Trevante Rhodes to fill the role, but it’s unclear if that’s who’s used as the model in Aguilar’s art.
Green Lantern was supposed to join the League in place of Martian Manhunter at the end of Justice League, as Zack was adamant about increasing the amount of people of color in the roster. When WB forbade him from including Stewart, they ultimately came to the compromise of having J’onn J’onzz in his place. Presumably, then, the studio is saving John Stewart for their long-delayed Green Lantern Corps movie.