7 years ago, Warner Bros. was rumored to have an iconic actor in mind to play Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern. However, this was back when the DCEU was still trying to get a movie off the ground. Now, it’s not too late to cast that same perfect actor thanks to the DCU and its upcoming Lanterns series starring both Hal Jordan and John Stewart.

Having received a straight-to-series order from HBO, the DCU’s upcoming Lanterns series will be coming from showrunner Chris Mundy with writers Damon Lindelof and Tom King. It’s also been revealed that “Lantern legend Hal Jordan” will be joined by “new recruit John Stewart” as the pair of intergalactic peacekeeping officers investigate an Earth-based mystery. To that end, this new DCU show could be the perfect opportunity for Warner Bros. to finally cast Tom Cruise in the role of Hal Jordan.

DC Reportedly Considered Tom Cruise For Hal Jordan In 2017

Back When The DCEU’s “Green Lantern Corps” Was Still In Development

Back in 2017, it was rumored that Tom Cruise was the frontrunner on a shortlist for the role of Hal Jordan in the DCEU’s Green Lantern Corps. Other names on the list reportedly included Bradley Cooper and Jake Gyllenhaal. There were also considerations of perhaps bringing back Ryan Reynolds, who played Jordan in the widely-panned Green Lantern movie released in 2011.

At the time, this movie would have been connected to the ongoing movies set in the “Snyderverse”. That said, Justice League had yet to be released in theaters, and its controversial release would see massive shifts in Warner Bros.’s entire release schedule for the DCEU. This included Green Lantern Corps being retooled into a streaming series for HBO Max which entered various stages of development before ultimately being canceled. However, the dawn of the new DC Universe from James Gunn and Peter Safran means there’s still a chance for Warner Bros to cast Cruise in the upcoming Lanterns series.

Why Tom Cruise Would Be The Perfect Older Hal Jordan

“A Veteran Lantern Legend”

Consisting of eight episodes, HBO has described Lanterns with the following plot tease:

“The series follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.”

Keeping that in mind, the implication is that Lanterns‘ Hal Jordan will be older, an accomplished member of the Green Lanterns by the start of the show who’s been tasked with training the younger Stewart while they investigate some new crisis on Earth. That sounds an awful lot like Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick, a decorated test pilot who’s called back in to train the next generation. It’s also worth noting that DC’s Hal Jordan was also a test pilot before he was chosen to join the Corps.

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and Hal Jordan have so much in common that Tom Cruise taking on the DC role feels like a no-brainer, especially since the series will more than likely lead to future film appearances and connections to the greater DCU. It’s also worth noting that Cruise recently signed a deal with Warner Bros. to produce and star in various pieces of original and franchise content for the studio. As such, the opportunity for WB to finally cast Cruise in a DC movie and have him wear a power ring feels more attainable than ever before.

Lanterns is a detective show based on DC Comics’ Green Lanterns. It started as an HBO Max series centered around Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz, and Simon Baz. However, James Gunn confirmed that the project was redesigned to focus on Hal Jordan and John Stewart in the new interconnected DC Universe franchise.

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