New dramatic news at the forefront of the DC division of Warner Bros. Just off the heels of yesterday’s breaking story that James Gunn and Peter Safran have been tapped to oversee the DC Comics projects, The Hollywood Reporter now reveals the long developing Green Lantern show for HBO Max is now set to be retooled. The series has been in the works since 2019.
It should be noted that this decision has not been made by Gunn or Safran and is in no way connected to the recent news. The redevelopment will now involve changing the focus of the story to another character who has helmed the Lantern Corp power, John Stewart. The showrunner and writer for Green Lantern, Seth Grahame-Smith, had already completed scripts for eight episodes of the show when the decision was made. Grahame-Smith was understandably frustrated with the situation, having already dealt with the studio regime change. He has now departed from the show.
The original concept from the producers was to focus on the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott. It would also feature Guy Gardner and a “multitude of other Lanterns — from comic book favorites to never-before-seen heroes.” When Walter Hamada had recently stepped down as head of DC, it was decided the show would now center around the character who had originated in the early 70s and had been based on legendary actor, Sidney Poitier.
Back in 2019, the show was said to be the biggest DC show ever made as the subject matter dealt with space and a multitude of scenarios involving other worlds. Now, the series is expected to see a slash in budget as David Zaslav continues to make cost-saving decisions for the company’s quarterly profit. Zaslav has already jettisoned a few shows in an effort to reach $3 billion in cost savings.