Green Lantern Corps

Perhaps the most glaring omission from the live action DC Extended Universe has been Green Lantern… any of them.  Hal Jordan is a founding member of the Justice League in the comics and John Stewart has served extensively with the team at various times.  Guy Gardner was a crucial part of the late ’80s ‘International’ era and Kyle Rayner was a regular during the late ’90s and early 2000s.  Most recently, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz have operated with the League and as very visible members of the ‘Green Lantern Corps’ and the latest rumor is that the last two may pull an upset and share the ‘Green Lantern Corps’ movie, with Jessica being the lead and Simon being secondary.

Ryan Reynolds starred as Hal Jordan in the 2011 ‘Green Lantern’ movie which was one of the most notorious flops in the comic book movie genre.  There was probably no chance that when Warner Brothers announced their DC shared universe, that they’d release another movie centered around Hal.  With so many Lanterns to choose from, however, that wasn’t that big an issue.  ‘GLC’ was one of the last movies on WB’s schedule, so we already knew it would be a while before we got any solid information about it, but for years now, it was believed that this would be a “buddy cop” movie in space, with ‘Lethal Weapon’ being cited as an influence.

The latest buzz, however, is that Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz will star and that their mission is to locate Hal who has been lost in deep space, explaining why he wasn’t present for the formation of the JL.  Simon was introduced in 2012 and was created by writer Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke.  He is a Lebanese-American and a Muslim, who has grown up facing racism and xenophobia.  Though he dabbled in crime as a younger man, he proved worthy of being a Green Lantern.

Jessica Cruz was created by Johns and Ethan Van Sciver introduced fully in 2014.  She was traumatized when she and her friends went on a hunting trip only to run afoul of mobsters disposing of a body.  The mobsters killed all of her friends, but Jessica escaped but spent the next three years locked away, afraid to leave her home.  Initially, she was possessed by an evil Power Ring that housed an entity called Volthoom.  Jessica almost sacrificed her life to save the Flash, but rather than Jessica, Volthoom was destroyed.  She was then given a real Power Ring.

Fans have praised her depiction as a hero suffering with anxiety and that is rumored to be a trait that would be explored in the movie.

Keep in mind this is just a rumor, but having two heroes of color headlining a major movie would be a profound move and could earn Warner Brothers some positive attention, seeing as how more often it’s bad news that’s swirling around their DC movies.  And after ‘Wonder Woman’, it wouldn’t be terribly surprising for WB to want to promote another female lead.

Another rumor is that Warner Brothers already has its eye on Christopher McQuarrie as director and it’s possible that they will make an official declaration at San Diego Comic-Con this summer.

For the time being, ‘Green Lantern Corps’ still looks to open on July 24, 2020, but that can always change.

Would you like to see a movie starring the two newest comic book Green Lanterns?  Or should WB stick with the classics?

Source: Comic Book Movie