Hello there, I would first like to thank those who actually take the time to read this and consider what I am trying to say. I would also like to point out that I'm not trying to hate on John Stewart, I actually hope we do see him on the big screen someday, but I just think Hal Jordan would be a better choice for DC to start off with as the Green Lantern. Keep in mind that this is my first article here so go easy on me.
As I'm sure most of you are aware of, for the past couple weeks rumors have been floating around that both Denzel Washington and Dwayne Johnson are up for the role of John Stewart in the upcoming Batman vs Superman movie, now releasing in 2016. Now these are nothing more than rumors but it has lead many people to believe that Warner Bros. and DC have decided to ditch Hal Jordan, because of the unsuccessful Green Lantern movie, and bring in John Stewart as the new Green Lantern. Because of the popular Justice League animated series by Bruce Timm, Stewart became a fan favorite on the show and the only Green Lantern that people who didn't read comics knew about. Leading many people to say "I thought Green Lantern was black!?" when they saw Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan in Martin Campbell's 2011 GL movie.
Now let's be honest here, Timm only went with Stewart in the JL cartoon because Hal Jordan was dead in the comics at the time and they needed a token charter for the show. But Stewart became much more than that and earned a pretty large fan base. But since then, Geoff Johns relaunched Hal Jordan and brought him back into the spotlight in his very successful run on Green Lantern. Hal has since appeared in 7 tv shows, one of which was his own, 8 video games, 7 animated films with 2 more on the way, and of course a live-action film. So Hal has become the main Green Lantern to a new generation! And that's one of the reason why I feel like WB and DC should stick with Hal for their Justice League movie universe.
It's no secret that the 2011 Green Lantern movie was a major disappointment. Not only was it unpopular among critics and the fans but it was a box-office flop, barely making back its 200 million dollar budget. The Green Lantern franchise was supposed to get a trilogy but ended up getting a one and done film. While there were rumors that WB was gonna go ahead with a sequel, nothing happened and they just decided to move on to more Batman and Superman movies.
With a Justice League movie in the works, many are still wondering what Green Lantern will they use? Recent rumors suggest John Stewart but what about Hal Jordan? While his movie wasn't a hit, you can't blame the character for that. Was it Batman & Robin's fault their movie was terrible? No, the blame should fall on the director and the writers. With Hal's popularity really emerging the last couple of years from the comics and other types of media, his fan base has grown immensely.
Hal Jordan was a founding member of the Justice League when the group debuted in 1960 and again when DC decided to relaunch their comics with the New52 in 2011. John Stewart only served a member of the team as Hal's fill in when he was unavailable until he because a full-time replacement years later. So you can't really have John Stewart without having Hal Jordan first. And since we've never had a live action JL yet, it' only fair that Hal Jordan gets his due first as a founding member before they decide to bring in John Stewart. And since the Justice League cartoon, Hal has been shown as the main Green Lantern of the team in the animated films such as JL: New Frontier, JL; Crisis on Two Earths, JL: Doom, JL: Flashpoint Paradox, and the upcoming JL War. So in recent years people have become aware of Hal being the Green Lantern of the Justice League.
Every team needs the lighthearted/ humorous charatcer of the group. For the Avengers, it's Tony Stark/Iron Man. But who will it be for the Justice League? Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Barry Allen Flash, and Martian Manhunter are all serious characters. So having John Stewart would just bring another serious character to the mix. John is a military man and has been portrayed as a hotheaded and serious charter. It worked in the JL cartoon because they had Wally West as the Flash to be the funny character but its highly unlikely they will use him and not Barry Allen for their movie universe. Barry has been the main Flash for years now and is getting his own tv show, so WB will likely stick with him for the Justice League movie. So WB can solve the problem of who will be that lighthearted character by sticking with Hal Jordan. Sure he's not really a "funny" character but he is a lot like Tony Stark, a cocky, arrogant playboy that's and a little bit narcasisstic.
One of my favorite things about the Avengers movie was the dynamic between Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Steve Rodgers (Captain America). Their dialogue alone was a lot of fun to watch and reminded me of another pair of heroes that have a similar relationship, Batman and Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Hal and Bruce have never really gotten along, while they have respect for each other they never really see eye-to-eye. Batman hides in the shadows, uses fear as a weapon, and is really grounded, while Green Lantern is this big, glowing green guy who can overcome fear and doesn't hide himself. One of the highlights of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's retelling of the Justice League Origin in the new52 was the dynamic between Batman and Green Lantern. If WB decided to use John Stewart and not Hal, they would lose that dynamic they could have had to really ground all these big superhero egos and create some tension. Also, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan are befriends so they would lose that dynamic too.
Now Warner Bros and DC have to options when it comes to casting Hal Jordan, bring back Ryan Reynolds or cast someone new to take over. I personally think Reynolds was fine in the role but had a weak script to work with. He did everything Martin Campbell told him to do and worked really hard for the role. He knew WB had a trilogy in mind and he was all for it! To see him not return would be very upsetting to me because I want to see him in his true potential for the role and he deserves redemption. I know how much everyone on this site loves to hate him but he truthfully isn't a bad actor. He may not choose the best films to be in but that doesn't make him a bad actor. But the big question is, would he want to return? He did say he had very little interest in joining a Justice League movie, but said a good director and script could change that. I'm sure if Zack Snyder, David Goyer, and Ben Affleck approached him about returning, he would be all for it. Having a new Batman is already confusing enough for the general audience so having Reynolds return would at least bring some continuity to the DC movie universe. And this way it's not a reboot of the GL movie universe and we can still hopefully see Mark Strong return as Sinestro for another GL film, if they choose to do one.
If WB does decide to recast for whatever reason, I'd be fine with that too. I would go with fan favorite Jensen Ackles. He has been in many fan casts as Hal Jordan and has a pretty large fan base due to his popularity in the show Supernatural. Also because he is a TV actor, WB wouldn't have to pay him as much as a big name actor like a Denzel Washing or Dwayne Johnson.
If WB does indeed decide to bring back Hal Jordan, there will surely be some people that are disappointed because they wanted John Stewart. So here's my idea that will hopefully make fans of both Green Lantern fans happy. So for the first Justice League movie, bring in Hal Jordan. He already had his origin so there is nothing they really have to explain about him. And if the movie is a success WB is probably/hopefully going to give each member of the team their won spinoff movies. I know I'm not the only one that wants to see a Sinestro Corps War in live action right!? And you can't have Sinestro without Hal Jordan! So for this sequel or requel or whatever the next Green Lantern film will be, you can bet Sinestro and his corps will be the the villains and hopefully we can see Mark Strong return. Now at the end of this film they can have Hal Jordan promoted to Green Lantern Honor Guard. For those of you who don't know what that is, its a promotion in the corps that means a GL is not just restricted to one sector and helps patrol all 3,600 of them. If this happened it would mean a new Green Lantern would need to be chosen for sector 2814, and they can pick John Stewart. He would be the new GL of Earth and would take Hal's spot on the Justice League for JL2. This way, maybe Hal can return for a third Green Lantern movie and fight alongside John Stewart. I think Hal and John fans can both be happy with this.
So that's my editorial, let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree and tell me what you would do with Green Lantern for the the shared DC movie universe. Thanks again for reading and have a good day.