There is a lot of excitement as DC Universe is currently working on a couple of releases to set up the storylines that will be carried in future Justice League adaptations. However, there have been a few changes with characters in the DCU.
Following the release of Justice League in 2017, Henry Cavill, who previously portrayed the character of Clark Kent/Superman, decided to leave the franchise due to scheduling conflicts. Similarly, DCU lost Ryan Reynolds from its roster as his Green Lantern movie barely saw any success.
But now, DCU has been acquiring new actors to take on these roles. One of the franchise’s most recent releases featured Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne’s Batman, who took over after Ben Affleck made his departure. While that was a huge success, DCU’s newly recruited cast members have drawn slight criticism from fans.
Fans are concerned about DC’s latest recruit Kyle Chandler’s age
It was recently announced that Kyle Chandler will be taking over as Hal Jordan in the upcoming Green Lantern television series called Lanterns. Depicting age can be tough in superhero shows and the age difference between Chandler and David Corenswet (who replaced Cavill as Superman) has become a major concern.
Chandler (59) and Corenswet (31) may work together on set in future Justice League movies. Using this as a base to express the issue, one fan took to X to criticize DCU’s decision to cast Chandler.
However, there is a big explanation as to why DCU chose Chandler over someone else young. While the storyline of Lanterns is yet to be revealed, James Gunn may be basing it on when Hal Jordan gets possessed by the Parallax.
In the comics, Hal was portrayed as an older Green Lantern, a mentor to other heroes (like John Stewart) involved in his storyline. Jordan was sketched with slight greying on the sides of his head to show he was a veteran hero. This is just one possible explanation.
In the “Emerald Twilight” storyline, the grey hair appears only after Hal becomes the Parallax. The grey patches of hair on the sides of Hal’s face were to indicate that the Parallax was taking over him.
Eventually, Green Lantern sacrifices himself by the end of the Emerald Twilight storyline. The character was partially reborn as the Spectre, during which Hal’s hair appears fully brown. Hal comes back as the Spectre to redeem himself from the chaos that unfolded while he was possessed by the Parallax.
Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan could come back as Spectre in Justice League
Having explained a potential storyline that could’ve influenced DCU to cast Kyle Chandler, it is also possible that he will take on the role of Spectre in future releases. This completely debunks fans’ concerns as well.
Coming back to Lanterns, this will be the first live-action DC series released under James Gunn and Peter Safran, co-CEOs of DC Studios, according to Variety. Gunn revealed that Lanterns will feature Hal Jordan and John Stewart, whose stories will act as a foundation for future DC projects.
Lanterns will most likely come out following the release of the scheduled Superman movie for 2025. As of now, HBO and DCU have only confirmed Chandler’s role but according to The Hollywood Reporter, they are looking for a young “fresh face” to take on the role of Stewart. Clearly, Gunn is trying to achieve an old-young dynamic between Jordan and Stewart (listen up DC fans!).
But before Chandler was cast as Hal Jordan, there were a few other names that were considered for the role. THR also revealed that DC initially wanted Josh Brolin to portray the character, but he declined the offer.
Chris Pine and Ewan McGregor were also options as well. But they ultimately settled on Chandler because of the success he had on Friday Night Lights and Netflix’s Bloodline. Filming is expected to commence between January and June 2025.
