According to Latino-Review’s Umberto Gonzales, well known for being a reliable source for movie news, DC/WB has finally cast the Green Lantern. He does not know who will be playing the Emerald Crusader as of yet, however, and perhaps more importantly, which particular Green Lantern will be featured.

For going on two years, fans have fought a bitter and passionate “war” over what Green Lantern should be featured in the DC Cinematic Universe. The battles have taken place all across social media, from Youtube, Twitter, various message boards, blogs, and so on.

This disagreement about fictional characters touches a larger issue about diversity within comics and superhero movies and television shows. John Stewart is DC Comics’ most celebrated Black character and there are many who would delight in seeing a Black superhero with a major, idealized role in big budget films. However, Hal Jordan, a White superhero that predates John Stewart, is perceived by some to be more important to the Green Lantern mythos, and they feel that if Green Lantern is to be represented, the story should start with him.

It’s a classic pro-advancement vs. conservative war. Does DC/WB push forward to accommodate a changing demographic and mindset, or do they stick with the White hero in honor of the comics, which were made generations ago for a different demographic and mindset?

Though the race issue is one of the largest points involved in this, and it cannot be ignored, there are other factors that have nothing to do with race.

Hal Jordan received a movie in 2011 titled Green Lantern, which was both a critical and financial failure. To distance future projects from that movie, many feel that John Stewart should be the Green Lantern of the new cinematic universe. However, others counter that heroes like Superman, Batman, and the Hulk have had bad movies, and yet they were given more chances, and Hal Jordan should be, too. Then there are those who say that thanks to Bruce Timm’s Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons, John Stewart is this generation’s Green Lantern, and the one most people who know of Green Lantern are acclimatized to. Others argue that Hal Jordan shouldn’t be shoved aside “because of a cartoon.”

Me being the webmaster of a Green Lantern John Stewart website, I, of course, back John Stewart all the way. I have put together two essays to counter common arguments against using John Stewart as the main Green Lantern in the cinematic universe, which can be found below:

Addressing Arguments Against Using John Stewart as the Cinematic Green Lantern
Addressing Arguments Against Using John Stewart as the Cinematic Green Lantern – Part 2

Things are looking good for those of us who want to see John Stewart instead of Hal Jordan. Umberto Gonzalez presumes that the Lantern DC/WB has cast is John Stewart, based on information that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson passed up the John Stewart role, which DC/WB offered him, for Black Adam. He tweeted:

Let’s also not forget Marc Guggenheim’s quote about DC having “other plans” for John Stewart, which prevent the character from being used in the Arrow television show, or the many stars who have expressed interest in playing the character, from Tyrese, to Idris Elba, The Rock, Michael Jai White, and Chadwick Boseman.

This time of uncertainty is coming to an end. GreenLantern.Co will keep you up to date with GL cinematic news.

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