Posted in: HBO, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: dc studios, green lantern, hbo max, james gunn, peter safran

James Gunn Calls Out "Fake" Green Lantern Report; GL Series Timeline

Published Mon, 26 Dec 2022 15:49:12 -0600

As many of you know (or you can refresh your memories on our timeline below), the end of October saw a major change in Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO Max's Greg Berlanti & Berlanti Productions' series take on Green Lantern series. Now, the series will now focus on John Stewart and (possibly) the ensemble of Green Lanter Corps characters. The decision came not long after the departure of Walter Hamada from the film/television leadership position at Warner Bros. Discovery but wasn't reportedly connected to James Gunn & Peter Safran heading DC Studios (which didn't officially start until November 1st). Since that time, both Gunn and HBO Max have publically expressed how Green Lantern will play an important role in the future of the DCU (with Gunn dropping the word "priority" as recently as earlier this month). Well, that didn't stop "sources" and rumor mill reporting from spreading the word that the series was "scrapped" and that Gunn was eyeing Stewart's Green Lantern for film instead. Well, Gunn clarified that in a pretty blunt way, responding to the article's tweet with a very straightforward "Fake." Meanwhile, Gunn had gone on record as saying that DC Studios should have some new projects to announce after the start of the new year.

Here's the timeline on Green Lantern recently that still has the series (and the character) in the DCU:

August 2022: HBO & HBO Max CCO Casey Bloys sends out an email that lays out the changes that will be taking place on the executive levels moving forward. While describing HBO Max Head of Original Content Sarah Aubrey, Bloys says they will be working with Joey Chavez, EVP Programming, to build up "tentpole IP series such as 'Peacemaker,' 'Dune,' 'The Penguin,' and 'Green Lantern.'" Those series would include James Gunn's John Cena-starring Peacemaker; the upcoming "Dune" prequel series, Dune: The Sisterhood; Matt Reeves' Colin Farrell-starring "The Batman" spinoff, The Penguin; and Greg Berlanti's Finn Wittrock-starring Green Lantern. You can check out Bloys's email in full here).

October 2022: Though Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO Max remain committed to Greg Berlanti and his Warner Bros. TV-based Berlanti Productions' take on a Green Lantern series, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the series was going through a ground-up refocusing that saw writer & showrunner Seth Grahame-Smith departing the project after having completed scripts for a full, 8-episode season (with Grahame-Smith reportedly choosing to depart after leadership changes at the multimedia company). The series will now focus on John Stewart and not on Guy Gardner (Finn Wittrock), Alan Scott (Jeremy Irvine), or the ensemble of Green Lanter Corps characters as originally envisioned. The decision was said not to be connected with the recent news that Gunn and Safran were set to lead film, TV, and animation at DC Studios.

November 2022: In an interview, Aubrey also stressed how Warner Bros. Discovery IPs were as an essential part of the streamer's future, having this to say about Green Lantern: "We remain very excited by the opportunity to make a big four-quadrant space opera with Greg [Berlanti] and Sarah [ Schechter] for HBO Max."

December 2022: In a tweet confirming that Superman was "a huge priority, if not the biggest priority" in his and Safran's DCU plans (this was before the Gunn-penned Superman movie was announced), Gunn also said that Green Lantern was "important" as the DCU moves forward.

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