DC Films’ Green Lantern Corps writer Geoff Johns will be pulling double duty with the Emerald Knight for Warner Bros. on the big and small screen as the longtime DC Comics writer is boarding Greg Berlanti’s upcoming series for HBO Max. Since their initial announcement back in 2014 of the DC Films slate, a Green Lantern reboot has been a priority for the studio after the 2011 installment failed to click with moviegoers. While the line-up has altered - as have several release dates - Green Lantern Corps has been in active development for quite some time. Johns, who is defined as one of the most famous Green Lantern writers at DC Comics, got hired to pen a script back in June 2018.
The DC picture would star an older Hal Jordan mentoring John Stewart as two of the most iconic Lanterns in the mythology. But Warner Bros. is also bringing the franchise to television through Berlanti as the DC TV producer is developing a series for the new HBO Max streaming service. No details have been revealed other than that it will be one of several DC series for the new platform. During the unveiling of HBO Max’s original programming, Berlanti spoke about how this would be his most ambitious DC series yet. With no word on who will star in the series, Berlanti has now found a partner for the project.
According to Variety, Johns will once again be teaming-up with Berlanti for the untitled Green Lantern series. This won’t be the first time the two writers collaborate on this side of the DC Universe. Berlanti was one of the co-writers of the Ryan Reynolds-led film with Johns in a consulting role. Originally set to direct the film, Berlanti’s vision was altered once he was fired when Martin Campbell got hired for the gig. Johns and Berlanti have also worked on several DC TV shows together such as The Flash and Titans, to name a few.
While Johns’ involvement with the new show is a big deal, Variety reports that Green Lantern Corps is still a major priority. Per the trade, Johns is set to deliver a draft of the screenplay by the end of this year. Depending on how the studio receives it, this could be the first step to getting the film out of development hell. There is the potential for J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions company to get involved with the film through his overall deal with WarnerMedia. Variety also hints at a potential film gig for Berlanti with Johns boarding the TV project, although they do not specify if it would be for Green Lantern Corps or another DC film.
With Johns now working on both Green Lantern projects, it could mean that the series would star other leading characters while Hal and John star in the feature film. The series could, in theory, star characters such as Alan Scott, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, Kyle Rayner or Guy Gardner. Having any of those characters would allow both projects to be unique from one another. As the new year arrives, more details are expected to be revealed for both Green Lantern projects from Warner Bros.
Source: Variety
