As Warner Bros. prepares to fully launch its inter-connected DC Movie Universe with next March’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, curiosity about the studio’s other DC films continues to swell. Director Zack Snyder is following BvS up with Justice League: Part One, meaning that even though a number of standalone films are poised to be released over the next five years, casting is already underway for those movies’ lead characters so they can first appear in Justice League. As a result, we already have our Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), but one integral character remains uncast: Green Lantern.
The studio has dated a Green Lantern reboot for release in 2020, but at Comic-Con last month we got our first hint of what that superhero pic would entail by way of the film’s title: Green Lantern Corps. The consensus now is that the film will be in the vein of a buddy cop movie, with two Green Lanterns at its center. Casting rumors have already been swirling with Chris Pine and, most fervently, Tyrese Gibson, who’s been adding fuel to the fire with not-so-subtle Instagram posts.
Steve sat down with Tyrese at the Blu-ray junket for Furious 7 in Abu Dhabi today and asked him about Green Lantern Corps., and the actor revealed just how his involvement with the superhero began and confirmed he's met with the studio about the project:
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“Well I was innocent from the beginning. I was at home eating a bowl of Lucky Charms in my drawers, my ugly feet were out, and I got about six direct messages on Instagram with photos of me as the Green Lantern. This particular fan who did this fan art said that there was a community of people that had been talking for like a month and a half about who they think would be the best Green Lantern and they all picked me. I said to them, ‘I took the oath, and I am going to commit myself to this process of seeing what’s possible.’”
While this may have gotten started as a piece of fan casting, Tyrese confirms that he’s actually sat down with the studio about the role:
“I’ve already had a couple of meetings at Warner Bros., so we’ll see what happens. I do believe that there needs to be more black superheroes out there, but that’s not even my motivation. I think I would be the best Green Lantern and based on my fans and supporters that spent around $6 billion in box office receipts, I feel like there’s a fanbase of fans out there waiting to see me put on this green suit and do my thing. So I would love to confirm something today but I can’t. We’ll just keep following up.”
It’s clear that Tyrese is incredibly keen on leading this franchise—these comments in particular feel like a bit of a pitch—and he’s not wrong in saying the world needs more black superheroes. This is the most popular genre around at the moment, with every studio in town trying to create its own Marvel-style universe, and as such these films should reflect the diversity of the world we live in.
Warner Bros. is likely weighing its options at the moment as Snyder completes post-production on Batman v Superman and begins to turn his attention to Justice League: Part One, but we still don’t know for sure if Green Lantern is a major part of that film. It’s possible they won’t need the character until Part Two or that he only has a small role in Part One, in which case Warner Bros. can take its time in finding its Green Lantern(s). Regardless, it sounds like Tyrese Gibson is a real possibility.
