It’s safe to say Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice received a much more divisive reception than Warner Bros. had been hoping for, but assuming the studio decides to proceed with its plans for a DC Movieverse and a two-part Justice League blockbuster, one actor is still very eager to participate.
Tyrese Gibson, who’s been openly lobbying for the role of Green Lantern for some time now, recently went on Larry King’s talk show and set the record straight about his interest in the part, saying that he has met with WB about the role, despite not knowing whether or not his chances of landing it are good.
King brought up Gibson’s Instagram post expressing a desire to don the iconic green ring and costume, at which point the Transformers actor explained:
“You know how they have fan-made kind of things online? A fan did this image of me as the Green Lantern. A fan. And I was like, ‘Woah, that looks cool.’ And I posted it on my Instagram, and it just went crazy — over 1,500 sites. And it was just all of this buzz, and I was like I might as well run with this thing. And I did. Pissed the people off, a little bit, at Warner Brothers because they thought that I had convinced the world that I had landed the role, which I didn’t. And I said, “If you go down my timeline, at no point did I say the role is mine.” But, you know, there have been other artists, actors and actresses who have put up images of them as a comic book character and ended up landing a role. So I was like, it’s worth giving it a shot. I did meet with Warner Brothers, though. And…um…shoot me a prayer, Larry. I would love it. I’ve taken the oath. I would love to do it.”
Producer Charles Roven said at one point that there was a chance Green Lantern would show up in the second half of Justice League, currently set for June 14, 2019. But even if that doesn’t come to fruition (especially given that a lot of the criticism of Batman V Superman has involved its glut of character cameos and table-setting maneuvers), the character will certainly appear in Green Lantern Corps, dated for June 19, 2020.
Whether that character is John Stewart or another Lantern (the title suggests this new DC Movieverse will include many) remains to be seen. And with actors like D.B. Woodside campaigning to snag the role, Gibson already has stiff competition.
Tell us, who would you like to see take on the lead role in Green Lantern Corps? Is Gibson a good fit, or is this one instance in which a fan’s dream-casting should stay exactly that – a dream?
