Before James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired to take charge of DC Studios, a Green Lantern TV series was in the works, revolving around Guy Gardner and Alan Scott.
The story was set across two different time periods, with executive producer Greg Berlanti calling the shots of a series co-written by Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and Marc Guggenheim (Arrow).
However, with it set to bypass HBO for an HBO Max release, the expectation was that it would be more in line with Titans and Doom Patrol rather than a big-budget superhero series like those seen on Disney+ (or even the upcoming DCU-set Lanterns).
While there was chatter about it tying into the planned Green Lantern Corps movie, like many DC TV shows at the time, chances are it was going to be largely standalone. Regardless, an impressive cast started coming together with Finn Wittrock chosen for Guy and Jeremy Irvine set to play Alan. Now, the latter has opened up on the plug being pulled on the 10-episode series.
"I was so gutted. I think I slept on my floor that night when I found out that it wasn't going to happen," Irvine admitted to The Direct. "In this industry, I always like to say that you get one kick in the nuts every year as an actor. And that, I remember, that one being a being a hard one because I had some really good ideas for it, I thought."
"But you know, there'll be something else where we get to incorporate it. But it was just a really nice story; the way it was written was really cool," the actor continued. "The scripts were great. And I hope one day it happens, and I hope whoever does it gets to have an amazing time."
Irvine declined to share any details about the series due to signing various NDAs; he did, however, express an interest in working with James Gunn in the DCU should the opportunity present itself.
Last year, the DC Studios co-CEO expressed little sympathy for the show's abrupt cancellation. "I didn’t think it was in the DCEU, but it was before my time," Gunn stated. "That said, I think Finn’s a talented guy and he’ll be okay! Writers, directors, actors have projects fall through every day. We’ve all had it happen many times. It’s not being 'done dirty', it’s a part of the job."
In the DCU, Nathan Fillion is now playing Guy Gardner (he debuted in Superman and later reprised the role in Peacemaker Season 2). In Lanterns, we'll see Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre take centre stage as Hal Jordan and John Stewart, respectively.
Wittrock has previously said that it stung to learn that Green Lantern wasn't moving forward. Like Fillion, he planned to rock a comic-accurate look at Guy. "I knew the fans wouldn't forgive me if I didn't have the red hair and the bow cut. So, yeah, I was preparing, I was mentally preparing. Not physically. I was gonna wait till the last possible second for that," the American Horror Story star revealed last year.
DC Studios' Lanterns is expected to premiere on HBO Max in the second half of 2026.