The Justice League rumors keep coming, although finally we’re changing characters a little bit. We keep hearing who won’t be part of the DC movie that brings together most of the major characters (Christian Bale and Brandon Routh) and the leading rumor has proven to be false (Jessica Biel reportedly passing on the chance to play Wonder Woman), so I guess we need to start figuring out some of the other characters. How about the man with the ring, The Green Lantern?
I’m still a little surprised to hear the movie is going with the John Stewart incarnation of the character. I figured after all the big debates about Kyle Rayner vs. Hal Jordan, the comic book company would want to capitalize on that, although then there’s the concern that whichever side didn’t get their Lantern in the movie would protest. This also makes me think they are trying to build upon the cartoon version of Justice League, which featured Stewart as the primary Green Lantern.
Looking at John Stewart/Green Lantern, one obvious choice comes to the front to play the role, and that’s exactly who Mania Movies is saying is in the running: Tyrese Gibson. The African American actor’s name seems to come up for every appropriate super-hero role, including The Black Panther and Luke Cage, both in development under John Singleton.
My criticism for his name being brought up aside, Gibson would probably be a good choice for the role, although I could also see Phil LaMarr playing the role (he provides the voice for the animated version of the character). It’s unlikely LaMarr would be a frontrunner for the role, however, as he isn’t as marketable a name as Tyrese.
As with the rest of the Justice League news, this is just rumor and speculation until we hear something official. Something tells me that’ll be some big event where they reveal more than just one or two of the heroes, although Comic-Con has passed and I can’t see Warner Brothers waiting until next year to really push a 2009 project that they need to be surrounded by hype.
