Former Green Lantern writer Marc Guggenheim speaks about the show's overhaul for the first time, admitting "complex" feelings surrounding it.
Marc Guggenheim, former writer for HBO Max's upcoming Green Lantern TV series, has broken his silence about the show's recently announced overhaul. Guggenheim is a veteran writer for multiple DC shows on the CW, having co-developed Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow while also acting as a writer and executive producer for Supergirl in 2019. His work extends beyond the Arrowverse, though, having been a writer for 2011's Green Lantern film. The financially unsuccessful film was largely panned by critics, with star Ryan Reynolds still poking fun at the movie over a decade after its release, including a memorable reference to the film's CGI suit in 2016's Deadpool.
In 2021, HBO Max announced it was moving forward with a new Green Lantern project, with Arrowverse creator Greg Berlanti set to spearhead the project alongside showrunner Seth Grahame-Smith. Originally casting Finn Wittrock and Jeremy Irvine as Green Lantern Corps members Guy Gardner and Alan Scott respectively, an overhaul of the series was announced this past October, with both Grahame-Smith and Guggenheim no longer attached to the project. The redevelopment of the show includes a shift in focus toward Green Lantern Corps member John Stewart, the debut of DC Comics' first Black superhero as the protagonist of his own show.
In a post from his Substack blog LegalDispatch, Guggenheim admitted he had complicated feelings about Green Lantern's recent overhaul. While he doesn't go into too much detail, he does indicate he believes the team of writers currently working on the project will be able to create an amazing Green Lantern show. Check out what Guggenheim had to say below:
As the article (which you can read here) notes, apart from co-writing what would have been the season finale, I haven’t had much to do with the series for the past year or so. Nevertheless, my feelings about this development (or, I suppose, redevelopment) are… complex. However, my feelings about the writing staff — Elizabeth Hunter, Sara Saedi, Pornsak Pichetshote, Juan Carlos Fernandez, Geoff Johns, Lamont Magee, Kirsten Pierre, and Jabari McDonald — are anything but. Showrunner Seth Grahame-Smith and I assembled a group of incredible writers and terrific human beings whose voices were as layered and diverse as the show we originally set out to make. Although this version of Green Lantern won’t be breaking out of orbit, I’ll always be grateful that these wonderful folks ended up in mine.
