Posted in: HBO, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: finn wittrock, green lantern, guy gardner, hbo max, preview

Green Lantern: Wittrock on What Ryan Reynolds Film Allows Series To Do

With FX's American Horror Story: Double Feature set to premiere next week, series star Finn Wittrock has started hitting the press junkets in support of the horror anthology series' return. But Wittrock is also starring in another eagerly-awaited series, Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Seth Grahame-Smith's HBO Max series Green Lantern. Though a "hulking mass of masculinity" and "an embodiment of 1980s hyper-patriotism," Wittrock's Guy Gardner (much like in the comics) still finds a way to be likable even when you don't want to like him. Now, Wittrock is offering some updates on how production is going, how he's studying for the role and more. Here's a look at some of the highlights from his EW interview:

"Green Lantern" Isn't What You're Expecting: "It is really cool how sprawling a storyline it is. It's pretty epic. It spans time and space and has something for everyone. It's not your average superhero story," Wittrock explains. "People will be really, really pleasantly surprised."

Guy Gardner May Be a "Polarizing Figure" But There's A Lot to Love: "He takes on a lot of this show. He's a pretty big part of it. I think it's an interesting way in [to the story]. It's not the conventional way in, but I think people might see a side of him they didn't know was there," Wittrock said.

Yes, Wittrock Watched Ryan Reynolds' 2011 Film: "It [2011 Green Lantern] definitely was something that was in my head. In some ways, it's almost better. I think it offers a chance to reinvent the whole thing and you're not going to have… I mean, no offense to the movie. It is what it is, but you're not going to have people who are dying for the creation of that movie. [The show] can be its own new interpretation," Wittrock explained.

"Green Lantern" Was Made for Streaming: "There's a lot of story there. I think maybe it was just too much to fit into a movie. We have the time and the space, thanks to HBO, to really explore a lot of it on a big scale. I think it's going to be a different animal, to be honest," Wittrock teased.

The 10-episode Green Lantern is set to span decades and galaxies- beginning on Earth in 1941 with the very first Green Lantern, secretly gay FBI agent Alan Scott (Jeremy Irvine), and 1984, with cocky alpha male Guy Gardner (Wittrock) and half-alien Bree Jarta. Along the way, they will encounter a number of both new and familiar Lanterns: Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, Sinestro, and Kilowog are also expected to appear. Lee Toland Krieger (Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Superman & Lois) is set to helm the first two episodes. Berlanti, Guggenheim, and Grahame-Smith will executive produce alongside Geoff Johns, Sarah Schechter, David Madden, and David Katzenberg– with Elizabeth Hunter and Sara Saedi co-executive producing.

During a Rotten Tomatoes IG Live Q & A session (starting at the 15-minute mark), Wittrock explained that the audition process was "big" and "daunting"- going the old-school audition route with Wittrock showing up to audition at a studio in front of a group while also being filmed and looked at from various angles (nice casting director story, too). Wittrock said the audition was "way bigger than I thought it would be" and that he was told he had the part about a week later. The actor hasn't seen the suit yet since they won't be "filming for a while"- but since he's reading the comics, he joked about having concerns about how skin-tight the costume will be. Here's a look at the full interview:

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