HBO Max is keeping things inclusive with their upcoming Green Lantern series. The show, which has only recently begun filming, has just cast War Horse actor Jeremy Irvine in one of its lead roles as Alan Scott, the first-ever character to hold the Green Lantern mantle, and also a canonically gay superhero.
The Green Lantern series will take place over several decades and settings, focusing on different heroes who have taken the name over the years. Scott was the first, having become popular enough after his introduction in 1940's All-American Comics to star in his own spin-off. While not a gay man during his original run, the character was eventually rebooted in 2011 as a younger version, and it was this incarnation that was specified as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Irvine is the second actor to be confirmed for the series, with Finn Wittrock having already been cast as Green Lantern/Guy Gardner. The series will begin with a focus on Scott in 1941, then move on to 1984 with Wittrock's Gardner and the half-human/half-alien Bree Jarta, who has yet to have her actress announced. Naturally, others will be included as the series goes on, with popular members of the Green Lantern Corps like Hal Jordan and John Stewart currently unconfirmed, but highly likely to make appearances as well.
Irvine himself isn't gay, which might inspire a bit of backlash due to the proportionally small number of LGBTQ+ actors playing similar roles. But it's possible his casting wasn't entirely disconnected from that aspect of things. Aside from his other roles in projects like the USA Network's Treadstone and The Railway Man, he also played the lead in 2015's Stonewall, which told the story of the historical New York City riots that effectively kickstarted the LGBTQ+ movement.
While Green Lantern as a franchise has never exactly gone away, the various heroes that make up the Green Lantern Corps haven't exactly gotten much of the same treatment that other heroes have received in recent years. So it should be interesting to see them make their way back into the mainstream after enjoying the shared spotlight way back in the early 2000s Justice League animated series. Knowing that Zack Snyder's Justice League almost included the John Stewart version of Green Lantern also probably raises that anticipation a bit.
So hopefully the series will do the character and the community justice. It's coming from many of the minds behind the CW's DC shows, which have been moderately inclusive at times. Plus HBO Max is also home to the excellent Harley Quinn series, which ended its 2nd season with Harley and Poison Ivy beginning a relationship. Neither of these instances proves that the Green Lantern series will be particularly apt at LGBTQ+ representation, but it's at least a good kicking-off point.
HBO Max's Green Lantern is currently in production.
Source: Variety