Summary

• The DC Extended Universe never fully brought the Green Lantern mythos to live-action, despite its iconic status within the DC Comics intellectual property.
• The only direct appearance of a Green Lantern Corps member in the DCEU was in Zack Snyder's Justice League, where Yalan Gur fought against Darkseid but tragically died.
• The DCEU has included various easter eggs and references to Green Lantern, such as in Man of Steel and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, but has never directly portrayed a human member of the Green Lantern Corps.

The the DCEU movie timeline due to end and be soft rebooted as the DC Universe, the potential for this lies in a future property.

The first attempt to initiate a live-action shared DC movie universe was with 2011’s Green Lantern, a film that – however well intentioned – simply did not please viewers or critics and was a box office failure. The film was marketed with Green Lantern: The Animated Series, however, which cemented itself as not only an excellent comic adaptation but also one of DC’s best animated shows. Unfortunately, the 2011 film’s failure resulted in the animated series only lasting a single season. Warner Bros. attempted to bring the Green Lantern mythos to live-action once more in the DCEU, but the franchise did not, ultimately, include these famous heroes outside of brief appearances and easter eggs.

4 Yalan Gur Battled Darkseid

Zack Snyder’s Justice League

The only direct and canonical appearance of a Green Lantern Corps member in the DCEU is Zack Snyder’s Justice League. When the Apokoliptian warlord Darkseid invades Earth, the planet is defended by its greatest champions. These warriors consist of Amazons, Atlanteans, Olympians, humans, and the Green Lantern Yalan Gur. As the Green Lantern assigned to Sector 2814, Earth was under Yalan Gur’s protection, so he fought bravely against Darkseid’s forces, but tragically died when Darkseid impaled him. Gur’s ring is shown flying off into space in search of a new wielder, and might have ended up in the possession of Alan Scott, if the comics are any indication - though the franchise itself never followed up on this storyline.

Alan Scott was the Green Lantern of DC’s Golden Age comics, debuting in 1940. Fascinatingly, Scott was not a genuine member of the Green Lantern Corps for much of his history, only being made an honorary member in the Modern Age. Scott’s ring, which originally belonged to Yalan Gur in the comics, became intertwined with a magical entity called the Starheart, making its power a combination of Oa technology and magic. The DCEU has never referenced Alan Scott outside of including Yalan Gur in this battle, but he could potentially have been an older member of the Justice Society, who was introduced in 2022’s Black Adam.

3 A Green Lantern Led To Jaime Reyes Becoming Blue Beetle

Blue Beetle

The Green Lantern Corps makes another appearance - albeit an indirect one - in one of the old DCEU’s final installments: 2023’s Blue Beetle. In the film’s prologue, the Scarab (Khaji-Da) is shown flying through space, but is knocked off course when a Green Lantern, depicted simply as a green light, rams into it. This leads to the ultra-powerful device landing on Earth, where it gives its power to (or inspires) Dan Garrett, Ted Kord, and Jaime Reyes, who each use the Blue Beetle moniker. The long history of the Blue Beetles and the Scarab’s history on Earth are all owed to the actions of one unidentified Green Lantern.

The Green Lantern Corps and the Reach - the creators of the Scarab - are bitter rivals in DC’s comics. The Reach are a sapient insectoid species that conquered portions of the known universe, putting them at odds with the Green Lantern Corps. While their war eventually ended in a peace treaty, the Reach secretly continued to subjugate worlds with their Scarabs, making it notable that the DCEU’s Scarab does not attempt to override Jaime’s personality. In the comics, this was due to it being disconnected from the Reach database - but in the DCEU, it might have been because of its collision with the Green Lantern.

2 A Man of Steel Character References Star Sapphire

Man of Steel

An easily overlooked Green Lantern easter egg in Man of Steel comes in the form of a minor character. The US Air Force officer Carrie Farris has a similar name to Carol Ferris from Green Lantern lore. Carol Ferris owns Ferris Aircraft and eventually becomes the most famous of the Star Sapphire moniker. Star Sapphires use power rings made by the Zamarons, a species that are distant descendants of the Guardians of Oa. While Carrie Farris’ name is a near easter egg, it does not prevent a genuine Carol Ferris from existing in the DCEU.

1 Green Lantern Merchandise Appears In Shazam 2

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

A smaller but arguably more meaningful Green Lantern easter egg in the DCEU is found early on in Shazam! Fury of the Gods. When Billy Batson – in Shazam form – is visiting a pediatrician, several toys based on the DCEU’s superheroes are visible in the office. This includes well-established heroes like Wonder Woman, Batman, and The Flash, but it also includes heroes like Robin and Green Lantern. The simple fact that there is Green Lantern merchandise indicates that there is (or was) a modern version of Green Lantern fighting crime somewhere in the DCEU by the events of the film.

John Stewart Was Almost Green Lantern In Justice League

The iconic Green Lantern John Stewart was set to make his DCEU debut in the finale of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Zack Snyder cast Wayne T. Carr in the role and filmed his scene, but was reportedly pressured by Warner Bros. to remove it, possibly due to the planned Green Lantern Corps TV series that was to be set in the DCEU. While Snyder did remove the scene, he replaced it with one of Martian Manhunter ing Bruce Wayne, setting the hero up for a future position in the fledgling Justice League. Unfortunately, John Stewart’s omission meant that, ultimately, the DCEU never directly portrayed a human member of the Green Lantern Corps.

Green Lantern's Unrealized DCEU Plans (& DCU Future)

The DCEU’s final installment will be Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, after which it will become the DCU, led by James Gunn and Peter Safran. The DCU will keep certain elements of the old DCEU, with the broad strokes of planned properties making their way into the new franchise in some cases. As a prime example, the forthcoming TV series Lanterns will star both John Stewart and Hal Jordan and perhaps include some ideas intended for the DCEU’s Green Lantern Corps. It is unknown if Wayne T. Carr will portray John Stewart in the DCU, but Lanterns will finally bring the Green Lantern lore back to the realm of live-action adaptations.