There’s no denying that the DCEU is moving on an upwards trajectory, with the likes of Aquaman and Shazam! going a long way to winning over both the fans and critics that were disappointed with the early, Zack Snyder-driven years. Birds of Prey has been generating some promising early buzz, with Wonder Woman 1984 coming later this year and The Batman, James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and the Dwayne Johnson-starring Black Adam all making their way to the big screen by the end of 2021.
One of DC’s most popular heroes that’s been in line for a reboot for a while now is Green Lantern, whose only previous solo outing resulted in one of the biggest box office bombs in history. The movie’s reputation is so dire that star Ryan Reynolds has poked fun at it on numerous occasions, while Taika Waititi has also mocked his long-forgotten supporting part.
A proposed Green Lantern Corps movie has been in the works for a while now, of course, with David Goyer and Geoff Johns originally working on the story, while Mission: Impossible’s Christopher McQuarrie revealed last year that Warner Bros. had rejected a written proposal that he had sent to the studio. And with the DCEU regaining popularity lately, with a few more hits under their belt, it’ll only be a matter of time until the character makes his franchise debut.
One of the actors that’s been actively campaigning to land the title role for years is Fast and Furious alum Tyrese Gibson, who’s spoken of his desire to play John Stewart for a long time. And in a recent interview following the Miami debut of the F9 trailer, the 41 year-old once again made it clear that he hasn’t yet given up hope.
“I don’t have any updates. I just hope they call me. I hope they call me. It’s a role I’m very passionate about doing, but right now, the focus is this Morbius film. It’s the Spider-Man spinoff franchise, Morbius, Venom, Marvel, and I’m just excited to be able to be a part of this franchise. I love the Fast and the Furious, but I’ve been wanting to be a part of another franchise. Because the last time I was in a franchise was Transformers, which is not too shabby.”
No offense to Tyrese, but despite making his movie debut 20 years ago, he’s never been able to establish himself as a leading man, which is likely the reason he’s been restricted to lending support in franchise blockbusters. The last Green Lantern cost $200 million and given the effects needed to bring the character’s powers to life convincingly, the eventual reboot is probably also going to be a costly endeavor. As such, whenever DC and Warner Bros. get round to making it, the studio is more likely to go for either an established star or a relative unknown to top-line the project, and not Tyrese Gibson.