Green Lantern is one of the most popular DC heroes of all time. Unlike Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman which tend to be associated with one particular character, Green Lantern is a title that has been passed on by many different characters. Since the concept was introduced in 1940, DC Comics has had eight different heroes hold the title of Green Lantern. That also meant the character has been in high demand for adaptation.

The character spent years in development hell and was finally brought to live-action in 2011 in the film Green Lantern, where Ryan Reynolds played the title role. The movie was a box office and critical bomb, and Warner Bros. scrapped plans for the sequel. The brand was damaged to the point the character, who has been an important part of the foundation of the Justice League, was not included in their feature film debut and was planned for a sequel instead. In that time, many actors have almost wielded the emerald power ring on the big screen. These were the actors that were almost Green Lantern.

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Bradley Cooper

     Warner Bros.

Casting for the Green Lantern movie began in the summer of 2009, and this was coming hot off the release of Warner Bros. The Hangover which saw Bradley Cooper go from a supporting actor in films like Wedding Crashers and Yes Man into a breakout star overnight. Cooper was reportedly director Martin Campbell’s only pick for Hal Jordan, but the studio refused to negotiate with Cooper on his salary so they went with Ryan Reynolds.

Campbell was not happy with the decision and both he and Reynolds feuded on the set of the movie, making for an unpleasant experience. Cooper would later join another cosmic superhero property, but instead of DC, he would join Marvel in Guardians of the Galaxy where he voices Rocket Raccoon.

Jared Leto

     Pan-Européenne

Another actor Warner Bros. considered for the role of Green Lantern alongside Ryan Reynolds was Jared Leto. Leto had established himself as a rising talent in films like Fight Club, American Psycho, and Requiem for a Dream and at the time of Green Lantern’s casting had received positive reviews for his performance in Mr. Nobody. Leto was also the frontman for the band Thirty Seconds to Mars, which had just released their third album This Is War.

Leto did not get the role but eventually joined the DC Universe in the 2016 film Suicide Squad as the Joker. Leto’s performance was regarded as one of the worst elements of the movie and future appearances were scrapped (although he did reprise his role for reshoots in Zack Snyder’s Justice League). He dipped his toe into the superhero genre again, signing up for the lead in Morbius which was another box office bomb that was thrashed by critics. With how Green Lantern turned out, Leto, an alleged groomer, might be a bad luck charm for superhero projects.

Justin Timberlake

     Sony Pictures

Justin Timberlake made it to the final round of casting for Green Lantern alongside Bradley Cooper and eventual star Ryan Reynolds. In 2009, Timberlake was most popularly known as one of the members of the boy band NSYNC but also had broken out as a solo artist. Timberlake had also started acting more appearing in films like Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, and Southland Tales.

The year before Green Lantern opened in theaters, Timberlake wowed audiences with his performance as Sean Parker in the critically acclaimed David Fincher film The Social Network. The same summer Green Lantern opened, Timberlake would come out on top with two successful comedies, Bad Teacher (which opened the week after Green Lantern) and Friends With Benefits. Timberlake has yet to star in a superhero project, but it feels like an inevitability.

Corey Reynolds

     Warner Bros. Television

Due to his appearance in the popular Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series, to many Green Lantern is and was a Black superhero, with many non-comic book fans wondering why Warner Bros. cast a white actor like Ryan Reynolds in the role. While Hal Jordan is an important part of the DC Universe, for many it is John Stewart who is the most recognizable Green Lantern. So in the early 2000s, actor, writer, and comic book fan Corey Reynolds pitched Warner Bros. on a John Stewart-led Green Lantern film.

Titled Green Lantern: Birth of a Hero, Corey Reynolds intended to star as John Stewart. Warner Bros. responded positively to the script in the summer of 2007 and was aiming for a 2010 release date. For some unknown reason, Warner Bros. scrapped Corey Reynolds’ take, and the project shifted into what would become the Hal Jordan-led 2011 film.

Common

     Lionsgate

At the same time that Corey Reynolds was pitching his John Stewart-led Green Lantern film Warner Bros. was also developing a Justice League movie from Mad Max director George Miller titled Justice League: Mortal. Disconnected from Batman Begins and Superman Returns, the movie was set to introduce new versions of Batman and Superman alongside Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Green Lantern that could maybe go on and lead their own films.

Due to his popularity in the animated series, John Stewart was chosen as Green Lantern and rapper Common was picked for the role. The movie was shelved due to a combination of the 2007-2008 WGA Strike and tax breaks cut from the shooting location in Australia. Interestingly, Common would appear in 2016’s Suicide Squad alongside other potential Green Lantern actor Jared Leto.

Wayne T. Carr

     DC Comics

2021 saw the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and with it meant the restoration of many concepts Snyder intended to be part of his film setting up future Justice League movies. One of those was the introduction of a Green Lantern at the end, and the one chosen for Snyder’s film was John Stewart.

Snyder cast actor Wayne T. Carr in the role and shot a scene in his driveway using a green screen, that was set to be at the end of the film with him talking to Bruce Wayne. Warner Bros. vetoed the scene saying they had plans for John Stewart later on, and the character was replaced by Martian Manhunter. Snyder did release an image of what the character would have looked like, letting the audience imagine what might have been.

Jack Black

     Paramount Pictures

Certainly the oddest pick to play Green Lantern, or any superhero, is Jack Black. Yet in 2004, that was almost a real possibility. The pitch was an action-comedy that would have begun like the traditional origin story with Abin Sur dying and sending his ring to find a worthy host, yet it zips by Hal Jordan and instead is given to a slacker Jud Plato, an original character for the film.

The script was very much in the spirit of wacky sex comedies in the 2000s and featured plenty of jokes that would have aged terribly. The script never got past the development phase and Black was never attached to the project but the fact that Warner Bros. actually considered it shows Warner Bros. mindset toward their DC characters in the early 2000s.