Arrowversecreator Marc Guggenheim finally gives fans a look at the concept art for John Diggle as Green Lantern that they wanted to use onArrow.Arrowran for seven seasons on The CW and launched an entire interconnected universe of superhero series that includedThe Flash,Supergirl,Legends of Tomorrow,Batwoman, andBlack Lightning. In addition to Green Arrow,Arrowalso gave live-action versions of heroes like Black Canary, Speedy, Ragman, Mister Terrific, and The Atom to name. One that kept getting teased but never paid off wasGreen Lantern, which the series finale implied would beArrow’s original character, John Diggle (David Ramsey).
“Unfortunately, we never got the approval to go full ‘Green Lantern’ with Diggle, but we were always trying to push the envelope as much as possible. For example, check out the proposed Season 8 costume for Dig that we weren’t able to slip past the powers that be.”
A Decade of Green Lantern Plans That Never Happened
While Marc Guggenheim launched the Arrowverse, his first foray into DC Comics was a co-writer on the script for 2011’sGreen Lanternstarring Ryan Reynolds.The movie was a box office and critical flop. It damaged the Green Lantern brand so much that Warner Bros. struggled to figure out what to do with the character. Guggenheim spent years wanting to redeem the Green Lantern concept and bring the character into the Arrowverse. One of the first big connections came inThe FlashSeason 1 episode titled “Rouge Air,” where Barry Allen arrives at a Ferris Airbase and reveals they were shut down after one of their test pilots disappeared, clearly referencing Hal Jordan.
Yet it appeared thatArrowwas planting the seeds early on to turn the original character, John Diggle, into the Arrowverse version ofJohn Stewart, one of the most popular Green Lanterns. Both were African-American veterans, and Green Arrow and Green Lantern typically have a good friendship, just instead of the comic book version of Hal Jordan, it would be John Diggle (Stewart). The first major tease was in the Elseworlds event where The Flash of Earth-90, the 1990’sThe Flashseries, asked John Diggle of the Arrowverse where his ring is, a clear reference to Green Lantern.
Arrow’s series finale ended with Diggle’s final scene showing him investigating a crashed meteor and picking up a box with a green glow, the clearest hint of all at the potential Green Lantern story that never was. Ramsey was then confirmed to appear as John Diggle inSuperman & Lois,The Flash,Supergirl, andBatwoman, with many hoping he would suit up as Green Lantern. However, inThe Flashepisode “The Man in the Yellow Tie”, Diggle reveals he turned down the power of the ring to spend time with his family andset up the spin-offJustice Uwhich never happened.
Actors Who Almost Played Green Lantern
These actors almost wore the emerald power ring and came close to becoming the face of the Green Lantern for audiences.
Recently, Green Lantern has been the focus of several projects, but bringing them to fruition has proven challenging. Warner Bros. originally announced aGreen Lantern Corpmovie for a 2020 release, but then they shifted it into anHBO Max series that would focus on multiple Green Lantern characterslike Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, Simon Baz, and Jessica Cruz. Meanwhile, they also seemed to have plans for the John Stewart Green Lantern, which is why theyblocked Zack Snyder from featuring Wayne T. Carr as the heroat the end ofZack Snyder’s Justice League.
Green Lantern Corp.has since been scrapped in favor of anotherGreen Lantern television series,Lanterns. That series will be on HBO and is part of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU. Chris Mundy, Tom King, and Damon Lindelof have written the pilot, and the series will feature Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Meanwhile, the Guy Gardner version of Green Lantern will appear inSuperman, played by Nathan Fillion. The 2010s were a rough decade for Green Lantern, and despite the Arrowverse’s best attempt to bring the popular hero to the series, they were never given a chance. Perhaps the Lanterns will shine brighter this time around.
