HBO Max's long-gestating Green Lantern series continues to take shape as writer Marc Guggenheim begins work on the Season 1 finale.
"First of all, I think it's important to note that I'm not showrunning this show," Guggenheim said of Green Lantern during a recent appearance on the Hall of Justice podcast. "So, I have even less license than normal to speak about it... I wish I could talk about it. It's a really, really cool project. It's obviously very near and dear to my heart... I can say that I'm -- it's funny, I'm working today, in fact, on the outline for the season finale. So, we're working away."
It was first reported in October 2019 that a live-action Green Lantern series was in the works for WarnerMedia's HBO Max streaming service, which itself launched in May 2020. The upcoming series will "tell the story of several generations of men who take on the [Green Lantern] mantle." Guggenheim is attached as a writer, as are Greg Berlanti and Seth Grahame-Smith.
In April 2021, it came to light that Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story) had been cast in the role of Guy Gardner/Green Lantern. The following month, it was reported that Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) was in negotiations to play DC's original Green Lantern, Alan Scott. Irvine confirmed his casting shortly thereafter.
Another month after Irvine's casting, it was reported that Tobias Menzies (Game of Thrones) was in talks to play the role of longtime Green Lantern adversary Sinestro, though Menzies' casting remains unconfirmed. Two more members of the Green Lantern Corps, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz, are said to factor into the HBO Max series as well, though it's still unclear who will play them.
It was once reported that the show was scheduled to begin production in the spring of 2021, though this did not come to pass. More recently, in May 2022, Backstage reported that HBO Max's Green Lantern was looking to cast more roles before beginning production in Los Angeles later this year.
HBO Max's upcoming series will be Warner Bros. and DC's first major, live-action project centering on the Emerald Knights since the 2011 film Green Lantern, which starred Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. That said, the Green Lantern mythos has been present in more recent screen projects like Arrow, Stargirl and both versions of Justice League.
Source: Hall of Justice