28th December 2013
Rumor: Denzel Washington is Going to Play Green Lantern John Stewart
There’s some very interesting news to report, John Stewart fans. Rumor has it that Denzel Washington will be playing John Stewart in the upcoming Man of Steel film. Bleeding Cool has the full scoop here.
Denzel was supposedly a candidate to play Lex Luthor. I also heard Idris Elba might take that role. When I heard that news, I thought that perhaps the role that was being cast wasn’t for Lex, but maybe it was for Green Lantern John Stewart. I even debated updating this site with the news, but I opted not to because I had absolutely nothing to substantiate that. However, it seems like I may have been on to something!
I have mixed feelings about this. I really like Denzel Washington as an actor, and would absolutely love to see John Stewart on the big screen, but I feel the 59 year-old Denzel Washington is simply way too old for the role. I know he still has it in him to play action oriented roles, but I wouldn’t want to see John Stewart pushing 60 when the actor cast for Superman is a mere 30 years-old. Heck, regardless of Henry Cavill, I don’t want to see a 60 year-old John Stewart!
I’m still hoping Idris Elba takes the role, and it’s reassuring to me that he was in the running to play “Lex.” If you haven’t heard, Elba has stated more than once that he wants to play his own super hero, and has specifically expressed interest in playing Green Lantern, which was met with many a fangasm across cyberspace (you can learn more about that in this article here).
Let’s keep our fingers crossed, JS fans. I think we’ve got a really good chance at seeing our favorite Green Lantern on the silver screen.
Speaking of casting for John Stewart, it’s been kind of a dream of mine to see Selwyn Ward play the character. For those who don’t know, Selwyn Ward plays Theodore Jay Jarvis Johnson (shortened to T.J.) on Power Rangers Turbo and Power Rangers in Space. He’s quite a milestone in the Power Rangers franchise for being the first non-White leader of the Power Rangers, and I’ve been a huge fan of his since I was a small child.
Now, I know casting Ward probably wouldn’t realistically be the best course of action, and I would actually much prefer Idris Elba, but my inner geeky fan also loves the idea of seeing two of my favorite characters, T.J. and John Stewart, in one. Selwyn does already have experience playing a space faring Black man in a colorful costume, so he has that going for him… right?
You can enjoy some of the delightful cheesiness of Power Rangers in the video below, which showcases the very first scene T.J. has. He meets Cassie, the future Pink Ranger (played by Patricia Ja Lee), while on his way to the famed Angel Grove. I was right there in front of the T.V. spending the afternoon with Fox Kids when this originally aired, and I have loved both these characters ever since.
Here is Selwyn some 13 or so years after, giving a legendary interview with Black Nerd. As you can see, he’s aged quite gracefully!
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