Following the departure of writer Seth Grahame-Smith, the new “Green Lantern” tv series being developed by Greg Berlanti for HBO Max will be undergoing some big changes.
The series is undergoing a creative overhaul following a series of leadership changes at HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, and DC Comics. It was originally slated to star Jeremy Irvine (“Treadstone“) and Finn Wittrock (“Ratched“) as Alan Scott and Guy Gardner, respectively. Grahame-Smith had apparently written eight episodes focusing on these two Lanterns before his departure from the project. No word on possible recasting.
Original producers of the show had not intended to include John Stewart, instead focusing on the first Green Lantern, the openly gay Alan Scott and Guy Gardner, as well as a “multitude of other Lanterns — from comic book favorites to never-before-seen heroes.” With the recent departure of Walter Hamada from WB, a decision was made to start over and build the show around John Stewart, the character who first appeared in the early 1970s and was modeled after Sidney Poitier.
Retooling the series seemingly has nothing to do with the recent news regarding James Gunn and Peter Safran. More than likely, most of the changes being made are in response to David Zaslav’s ongoing budget cuts to try and squeeze every last dime out of the new Warner Bros. Discovery combination. Which is probably for the best.
The series was originally considered to be the most expensive show DC ever made, and easily the largest for HBO Max with a budget estimated in the $120 million range. By comparison, “House of the Dragon” reportedly cost less than $200 million. Neither Wittrock nor Irvine remain signed on to the project, and the accelerated production schedule that was originally in place has been slowed down significantly. We’ll keep you updated once a new logline for the series has been determined or we learn any new information.
