While the DC Universe may have found its new Hal Jodan, a.k.a. the Green Lantern, many fans aren’t happy about the potential casting. Just yesterday it was reported that Josh Brolin (Dune) has been offered the role of Hal Jordan in the upcoming Lanterns series. The actor has not accepted the part (as of the time of writing), but to be offered a formal contract means there must have been some interest on Brolin’s part. Despite potentially having an A-list star attached to the project, and one with a proven track record of starring in successful superhero movies (Brolin played Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame), DC fans aren’t happy about the decision.
As they so often do, the disgruntled fans took to X to voice their displeasure at Brolin’s potential casting as the Hal Jordan Green Lantern. Perhaps the most hilarious reaction comes from user @TrulyTigress, who called back to an old Deadpool 2 interview with Ryan Reynolds and Brolin. Reynolds previously played Hal Jordan in the maligned 2011 movie Green Lantern. The clip shows Brolin mercilessly insulting Reynolds’ role in a game of “Playground Insults,” but the caption turns the tide back on Brolin.
Other fans cannot help but weigh in with their fan-castings for the role. Names like Jake Gyllenhaal, James Marsden, Bradley Cooper, and Josh Hutchinson have all been thrown around as the perfect fits to play Hal Jordan. For many, Josh Brolin (who is currently 56), is too old to portray Jordan on screen. @milkias_samuel wrote, “I feel like there are so many better roles for Josh Brolin to play in the DCU other than Hal Jordan,” while @SchwayJohn says, “If you want a 50s Hal Jordan, he’s RIGHT HERE” referring to Marsden, while suggesting that Brolin would be better suited as the DCU’s Deathstroke adding, “Bro better turn it down I’m so serious.”
Not Everyone Is Against Josh Brolin Playing Hal Jordan in the DCU
The internet is well and truly divided about Josh Brolin playing Hal Jordan in the upcoming Lanterns series. The show has been described as a True Detective-esque mystery involving DC Comics’ intergalactic police force. As a result, some fans are reimagining Brolin as an old, grizzled version of Hal Jordan, who will appear alongside a younger John Stewart. @GrayHarden77 summed it up perfectly, saying, “”An older experienced Hal Jordan having to team up with a young John Stewart to solve a murder. Lethal Weapon/True Detective inspired space cops. I just need Brolin to say “I’m too old for this sh*t”. I dig it.”
Others feel that Brolin’s version of Hal Jordan could provide the age and experience required to play a test pilot who becomes a founding member of the Justice League. X user @LanternsCreed writes, “I hope Josh Brolin’s Green Lantern (if he accepts the role) is going to be treated as a founding member of the Justice league. Because that is who Hal Jordan is,” while @nickuva feels that, “Brolin as Hal Jordan is an inspired choice. Test pilots are not 23-year-old hotshots. And he can project the menace and tinge of arrogance I’d expect from this character. He shouldn’t be played clownishly the way he was in their recent animated films.”
Created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King,
Lanterns
is expected to premiere next year
as a HBO Original
.