This is not a drill — James Gunn looks to be casting his Green Lantern at last. It’s been 13 years since the Emerald Knight last appeared in live-action, and while Ryan Reynolds’ infamous film was apparently enough to kill the franchise on the big screen forever at least the Green Lantern Corps are coming back in upcoming Max series, Lanterns. But who will play the most famous Lantern of them all, Hal Jordan?
That is what we’re all waiting to find out as a raft of names have emerged to be in the running. And… Honestly, they have to be seen to be believed. The DC side of the internet went into meltdown when it came out that Josh Brolin of all people was supposed to be the top choice for the role. Now we’re learning that, allegedly, two more names have been tapped to take the part if Brolin turns it down. Somehow, though, they may even be more out-there than the idea of Thanos wielding a Power Ring.
Jeff “The InSneider” Sneider is claiming that both Ewan McGregor and Matthew McConaughey are the runner-up choices for Hal should Brolin back out. Let’s allow that to sink in for a moment. That’s Obi-Wan Kenobi himself and the guy who voiced Cowboypool in Deadpool & Wolverine as Green Lantern. Do we know if James Gunn is OK or has he been possessed by Parallax?
Unsurprisingly, the internet has a range of reactions to these left-field picks. Some are actually here for McGregor’s Hal, but not so much McConaughey.
McConaughey as a villain, though? We can see it.
Brolin? McGregor? McConaughey? It’s enough to make people nostalgic for 2011. To quote Thanos, perhaps we treated you too harshly, Ryan…
Others, meanwhile, are fully on board for either of these fellas and are demanding Brolin “take one for the team” and left them have at it.
Maybe having McConaughey cast would be worth it just to hear his unique take on the Green Lantern oath.
All of this Lanterns casting info should be taken as rumor fodder for the moment, but it could be telling if McGregor is in the running for Hal, considering the Star Wars icon was already in the DCEU as Black Mask in Birds of Prey. If he got the role, then, this would make him the third SnyderVerse star to be recast in Gunn’s DCU, following The Suicide Squad and Superman actors Sean Gunn and Nathan Fillion. And maybe McConaughey got a taste for comic book projects after his cameo in Deadpool 3?
Obviously, all three actors are pushing 60, which is causing countless complaints from fans. It should be noted, though, that Lanterns is expected to be a buddy cop-style show, with Hal as the grizzled older Lantern and likely John Stewart as a younger rookie recruit — so anyone worrying that the series will suffer from a lack of youth should relax. In brightest day, in blackest night, maybe fans should just cool their fight. Let those who tweet out every slight, beware Gunn’s power… To cast Green Lantern right.