2024 is the year of Marvel movie stars making unexpected comic book cinema comebacks. On the very same weekend that cameo-factory Deadpool & Wolverine released, Robert Downey Jr. was announced to be returning for Avengers: Doomsday as Doctor Doom. Ironically, this might have inspired Downey’s old on-screen nemesis to pull a reverse RDJ by going from villain to hero instead of hero to villain.
The latest theoretical flour to spring from the rumor mill claims that James Gunn has found the lead of his upcoming series Lanterns in the form of the Avengers’ greatest villain. Nexus Point News is reporting that Thanos himself Josh Brolin has been offered the role of Hal Jordan in the upcoming TV reboot of the Green Lantern mythos. If this did turn out to be true, it’d mean that Brolin would be the first actor to play Jordan in live-action since Ryan Reynolds — his Deadpool 2 co-star.
Despite being extremely far from confirmed at this time, news of Brolin potentially wielding a green Power Ring is going viral, thanks to the unlikelihood of the Mad Titan switching it up to play the Emerald Knight. And everyone seems to have the exact same opinion on the possible casting: why is Hal Jordan old now?
Some folks are getting so angry they’ll be joining Sinestro’s evil Yellow Lanterns next.
Even Brolin fan club members aren’t convinced this is the right choice.
“There is no way this is true,” some are maintaining. And maybe they’re right, but this is a guy who has already starred in six superhero movies across three different franchises, don’t forget.
What with Batman confirmed to be middle-aged in The Brave and the Bold, some are wondering why James Gunn is planning on casting all DC’s heroes as 50-somethings.
A sneak peak at James Gunn’s geriatric Justice League?
On the other hand, at least some out there aren’t so ageist and are interested in the idea of the DCU having some older heroes. “Not everyone has to be 32,” one chided.
Perhaps it’s Brolin’s naturally craggier face that’s to blame here, but it’s curious that the Dune: Part Two star is getting flak for his age when he’s actually younger than Downey — Brolin is 56 years old, while RDJ is 59. That means that when Downey last played Iron Man, he was 54, only two years younger than Brolin, who’s supposedly too old to be a Green Lantern. Maybe DC fans just have longer memories than Marvel lovers and are still not over the trauma of the last time Brolin made a DC project — 2011’s woeful western Jonah Hex.
Not to mention that Brolin was close to playing Zack Snyder’s Batman before Ben Affleck got the part. To paraphrase the actor’s Marvel role, DC couldn’t live with their failure. And where did that bring them? Back to him.