Now that there’s a little separation from Warner Bros. Discovery’s great cancel culture summer, The Hollywood Reporter reminds us there was a Green Lantern show in the works. While many probably just assumed that would go out with a whimper, it is, in fact, still happening without some of the key names attached. Greg Berlanti, the architect of the arrowif and seemingly someone WBD would want to stay on good terms with, is still moving forward with the series. However, showrunner Seth Grahame-Smith, who completed “a full season of eight episodes,” is exiting the production, which is currently undergoing a total rework.
The most significant change to the series is that it will no longer follow the Guy Gardner and Alan Scott Green Lanterns. Originally pitched as a way to explore “a multitude of other Lanterns,” the show will focus on John Stewart, the 1970s Green Lantern, a decision made after Walter Hamada’s exit—though this has nothing to do with the recent hirings of James Gunn and Peter Saffron. Additionally, Finn Wittrock and Jeremy Irvine, previously set to play Gardner and Scott, are no longer attached.
Green Lantern was hyped initially as one of HBO Max’s signature shows, with a price tag to match. The Hollywood Reporter said it had a budget of $120 million, which is less than House Of The Dragon‘s $200 million but a lot for a DC superhero that never successfully jumped to live-action. Still, Berlanti called it the “biggest DC show ever made,” which probably won’t be the case this time around. Hollywood Reporter‘s sources say it’s hefty price tag spooked execs. We can only assume someone finally got around to realizing that WB was going to pay $120 for a Green Lantern show.
However, when WBD isn’t looking for a Green Lantern series to retool, it’s trying to take billions in tax write-downs. The media conglomerate did find some tax breaks in Green Lantern, though. Those episodes that Grahame-Smith wrote are likely to be included in those write-downs. At least all that work was good for something.
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