Arrow’s David Ramsey Explained Why It Was The ‘Right Decision’ That Diggle Never Became A Green Lantern, And I’m With Him

When Arrow wrapped up its eight-season run at the beginning of 2020, one of the final things fans saw was David Ramsey’s John Diggle opening up a mysterious box containing something glowing green that crashed on Earth right before his eyes. This plot point was later revisited on shows like Supergirl, Batwoman and The Flash, and fans waited with bated breath to see if this would culminate Diggle becoming Green Lantern, which had been theorized for a long time. However, by The Flash Season 8 episode “The Man in the Yellow Tie,” this story ended with Diggle walking away without an emerald ring. Ramsey has now shared why he thinks it was the “right decision” his character never became a member of the Green Lantern Corps, and I agree with him.

The actor discussed this topic while participating alongside Arrow co-star Stephen Amell in the Arrowverse Heroes panel at Motor City Comic Con, which was moderated by ScreenRant’s Joe Deckelmeier and also saw Amell sharing why he’s open to playing Green Arrow again. Regarding the green box, Ramsey mentioned how “politics” surrounding the Green Lantern property destroyed his and producer Marc Guggenheim’s attempts to Diggle one of these ring-slingers “for six seasons.” But in the end, he’s happy with how this turned out, saying:

The Arrowverse certainly did its job of teasing John Diggle becoming a Green Lantern. As David Ramsey mentioned at the panel, there was that moment in the "Elseworlds" crossover when John Wesley Shipp’s Flash from Earth-90 observed that this universe’s Diggle wasn’t wearing a ring. Let’s also not forget that Ernie Hudson played Diggle’s step-father, Colonel Roy Stewart, which technically means Diggle could have been known as John Stewart, who’s one of the most popular Green Lantern characters in the comics.

By the time of “The Man in the Yellow Tie,” John Diggle learned from Eobard Thawne, a.k.a. Reverse-Flash, that it wasn’t a Green Lantern ring, but some kind of great cosmic power. Thawne said he could reopen the box, but accepting this power would require Diggle to leave his family behind. The man who fought crime as Spartan refused this offer, causing the box to disappear. I thought this made the best sense to go this route with the character since it would’ve been bizarre for him to abandon his wife and children, and David Ramsey also approved of this choice, saying:

As for David Ramsey saying the Green Lantern property is “in the hands it should be in now,” he’s referring to how the Green Lantern mythos has been incorporated into the DC Universe franchise. We met Guy Gardner in Superman earlier this year, and Lanterns will premiere on the 2026 TV schedule, with Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart as its leads. While the main Arrowverse continuity never pulled the trigger on anything Green Lantern-related, Stargirl, which took place on Earth-2 post-“Crisis on Infinite Earths,” did feature Jennie-Lynn Haden inheriting the ring belonging to her late father, Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern.

You can revisit David Ramsey’s time as John Diggle by streaming Arrow with your Netflix subscription, but take advantage of that while you can, because the show will leave the platform on December 18. Lanterns is now expected to premiere on HBO sometime in mid-2026, with episodes being available to stream afterwards with an HBO Max subscription.