Josh Brolin Passes on HBO’s Green Lantern TV Show (Exclusive)

Aaron Couch and Borys Kit
·2 min read
4

Josh Brolin will not be wearing the ring, after all.

The actor has passed on an offer to star in Lanterns, the DC Studios series based on the Green Lanterns superhero character, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

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Brolin was eyed to play Hal Jordan, the cocky Green Lantern hero previously played by Ryan Reynolds in the ill-fated 2011 Green Lantern movie. According to multiple sources, the actor received on offer at the end of August. By the end of this past weekend, his mind was made up. No other details were available.

Lanterns already has a high pedigree as Ozark’s Chris Mundy is showrunning the eight-episode series, and co-writes with Damon Lindelof, the creator of HBO’s Watchmen and seminal TV show Lost, as well as Eisner Award-winning comics author Tom King. The show, which falls under the HBO banner, is casting and in the middle of hiring directors. The series is looking to shoot from next January to June in Atlanta.

The casting would have been another title in Brolin’s comic book résumé. He is a regular to the genre, most notably playing Thanos in current DC Studios co-chief James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as in the Russo brothers’ Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He also played Cable in Deadpool 2 opposite Reynolds (who even mocked his own Green Lantern movie in a post-credits scene).

The internet was all abuzz at the prospect of Brolin playing Jordan, although he was never a sure thing. Speculation also arose around several other A-listers, but it’s unclear how valid those rumors are. Matthew McConaughey, for example, will not be donning the ring, according to sources.

Lanterns is described as having a gritty True Detective vibe as it focuses on Jordan reluctantly mentoring a younger Lantern, John Stewart, who in DC publishing history was one of the company’s first Black superheroes. The story sees the two characters investigating an Earth-bound murder with larger implications. Sources say that DC and the producers are looking for a young, more fresh-faced actor for the role to play opposite an older and bigger name.

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