Martian Manhunter May Debut in the DCEU Soon

CBR

DCEU Producer Teases Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter Plans

By Stephen Gerding

Published Nov 16, 2017

Will J'onn J'onzz land a role in the inevitable Justice League sequel, or perhaps even a solo film?

With Justice League less than a day away from debuting in theaters, fans are already deep into their debates over what characters should be making their way to the DCEU in the future. It seems everyone has an opinion on which hero or villain deserves to be brought to life on the big screen, and producer Charles Roven counts himself among them.

In a recent interview with CBR, Roven was happy to add his personal choice for which DC hero deserves to take their place alongside Superman, Wonder Woma, Batman and yes, Green Lantern. Asked if there was a particular character he was interested in seeing come to the DCEU, one that's not one of DC's traditional "big guns," Coven didn't struggle at all to come up with his perfect candidate.

"I wouldn’t necessarily say that I would rather do that character, because we know that there is going to be a Flash movie, we know that Aquaman is being done," Roven told CBR, pointing out that Warner Bros. is already developing a number of films based on DC's non-Trinity heroes. "I think that Cyborg deserves his own movie too, and I know that the fans are out there screaming for Green Lantern, that’s for sure. But I was always a fan of J’onn J’onzz, Manhunter from Mars."

Of course, the DCEU will absolutely welcome the Green Lantern Corps at some point; even if it doesn't end up debuting in Justice League, the ring-slinging space army is at least name-dropped in the film, and it's not a secret that Warner Bros. has plans to reboot the concept in the DCEU.

As for Roven's pick, while the Martian Manhunter isn't exactly an unknown quantity, neither is the character what most fans would refer to as an A-lister. While he's been presented at various times in animation and comic book continuity as the "heart" of the League, since the DC Universe was rebooted in 2012, J'onn J'onzz's stature in the comics has been significantly downplayed, even as his broader popularity has risen due to the character being a regular cast member on The CW's Supergirl.

That the character was name-dropped by someone so high in the DCEU's creative echelon is certainly something to take note of, particularly in light of Warner Bros' recent increase in announced solo hero movie plans. But while it's interesting, perhaps even heartening to learn that Roven thinks highly of the character, that alone is not a guarantee J'onn will actually stand alongside his Justice League teammates any time soon, if at all.

Opening Friday nationwide, Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon.