Where Is the DCEU's Green Lantern of Earth?

This week at Comic-Con International in San Diego, Warner Bros. dropped a hot new trailer for Justice League, DC's ensemble superhero film rolling into theaters November 17. In addition to some stellar scenes featuring Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, who is coming to the film fresh off her own box office success, the sneak peek offers the first good look at Jason Momoa's Aquaman, Ezra Miller's Flash, and Ray Fischer as Cyborg. But the trailer also reveals a curious fact about the current state of the DC Extended Universe: Earth has no Green Lanterns.

In comics, of course, Earth is lousy with GLs. There's Hal Jordan, whom some believe is the greatest of them all. There's also John Stewart. And Guy Gardner. And Kyle Rayner, and Simon Baz, and Jessica Cruz. And Alan Scott, if you live on Earth 2. It's true that not all of them currently live on Earth -- John, Kyle, Hal and Guy are high-level commanders patrolling the stars -- but it's strange to think of a universe in which Earth isn't the thematic center of Sector 2814.

And yet that's precisely what the movie's main villain Steppenwolf, in a portentous voiceover, tells us. Earth is doomed because there are "no protectors here," "No Lanterns. No Kryptonian. This world will fall like all the others." The villain's brief line serves not only to establish the Green Lantern Corps' significance in the DCEU -- they are formidable enough to deter an Apokaliptian invasion -- but also to establish that Earth currently does not merit the Lanterns' light.

What we don't know is where we are in the timeline of Earth-based Green Lanterns. We know only that there isn't one now. Has Hal already taken up the emerald ring, or is that event still in the DCEU's future?

We know (for all but certain) that the DCEU will not incorporate 2011's Green Lantern film into its continuity; this was before Warner Bros. decided to take a "shared universe" approach to its DC Comics heroes, and anyway the movie was poorly received -- and its star, Ryan Reynolds, shows no indication he'd like to return to the role of Hal Jordan. But this doesn't mean that Hal's basic origin story hasn't taken place in some form. It's entirely possible that Hal is occupied elsewhere in Sector 2814 during the events of Justice League, or subduing the rogue Lantern Sinestro, or engaged in any number of interstellar shenanigans Jordan has been known to entertain throughout his long and storied career.

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Are the DCEU's Green Lanterns on Other Planets?

The crucial thing, though, is that if Hal is indeed occupied, Steppenwolf must be confident that he's not going to return any time soon.

Now, there are a number of stories from the comics in which Hal quit the Corps -- there are a few, as well, where the Corps has been in tatters and would be in no condition to come to Earth's defense. It seems unlikely that Warner Bros. would kick off a new Green Lantern franchise by, oh, adapting "Emerald Twilight," but it's easy to imagine the DCEU's Lantern saga beginning with a period of rebirth. In that context, Earth may be without its emerald protector because Hal is on an extended recruitment drive throughout the infinite expanses of space.

The problem here is that Steppenwolf's statement that there are "No Lanterns" on Earth would seem to suggest that there are Lanterns on other planets. If Earth is targeted over other worlds because it doesn't have a GL, that would speak against the theory that the Lanterns' influence is at its nadir.

This may point toward a universe where Hal Jordan has not yet become Green Lantern. Perhaps Earth is without a Lantern because it has never had a Lantern. But why? Has Abin Sur not yet made his fateful flight, or has the chosen ring-bearer declined his duty? Both John Stewart and Guy Gardner have a history of rejecting the ring's responsibilities. Hal, too, headstrong as he is, may have bristled at the Guardians' authority and rejected the call. But whatever the reason, if Hal is not yet a GL, there's the tantalizing possibility that he may become one in Justice League. The Green Lantern Corps film is set for release in 2020, teased in San Diego with comic art of Hal Jordan and John Stewart; we know that the DCEU likes introducing characters in others' films before launching them into their own franchise -- Gadot's Wonder Woman first appeared in Batman vs. Superman (itself a sequel of sorts to Man of Steel that serves to debut Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight), and Justice League is already set to be a launching pad for The Flash: Flashpoint and Aquaman, both of whom had brief cameos in BvS. It's not too far fetched to imagine, then, that Abin Sur will crash to Earth in a valiant effort to turn back the forces of Apokalips, only to fall in battle -- handing his ring off to an Earth man capable of overcoming great fear.

But would that human ring-bearer really be Hal? Or might it be John Stewart?

We might as well give up, for now, on the idea that Kyle, Guy, Simon or Jessica will play a meaningful role in the DCEU in the near future. But, especially given that the title card for Green Lantern Corps featured both Hal and John, it's entirely possible John could get first crack, when the time comes. (If, again, it hasn't come already.) A generation growing up with the Justice League cartoon recognizes John Stewart as the Green Lantern, and, weirdly, John is arguably also the primary hero of the Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps comic series. He's a big deal. Especially if Warner Bros. is looking to distance itself from the Ryan Reynolds flop, putting the spotlight on John would make for a cleaner break. Tyrese Gibson is heavily rumored to bring John Stewart to life on the screen, there's no reason he couldn't get top billing, especially if recent rumors about the film's tone, style and character descriptions prove true.

The Abin Sur origin story could very easily be adapted to serve John instead of Hal, and so the potential to drop this into Justice League stands. But if John is already a Green Lantern, there could be another intriguing reason for him to be off Earth for an extended period of time: the destruction of planet Xanshi and its aftermath.

By far John's most famous story from the comics is his role in the death of a planet, his hubris leading to the death of billions during the Cosmic Odyssey crossover event. If John Stewart is already a Green Lantern, he may be in the process of failing to save Xanshi, or else reeling from his greatest failure and unable to wield the energy of willpower. If some version of these events is taking place around the same time as Justice League, Steppenwolf would have no reason to fear the Lantern's return.

It's just a single villainous line to go on, and there's a lot we don't know. Were any of the other fallen worlds in Sector 2814? It's a large sector, and its protector may be chasing Steppenwolf's wake. Has the Earth ever had a Green Lantern -- perhaps Wonder Woman once fought alongside Alan Scott? And if there are no GLs on Earth now, how is it we'll have two by the time Green Lantern Corps arrives in theaters?

Getting at least one before the end of Justice League would be a promising start.

Justice League, directed by Zach Snyder and starring Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fischer, and Henry Cavill, soars into theaters November 17, 2017.