John Stewart: Green Lantern Appreciation 2022

[Vordan]

John might be in the new DCEU JL lineup that’s coming

[Alpha]

To me Isaaiah Mustafa is the perfect John Stewart. Just has the right look and the charm.

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[Sodam Yat]

John might be in the new DCEU JL lineup that’s coming

Thanks for the link! Keep in mind those are definitely rumors. Geoff Johns being involved as a producer while John Stewart is supposed to be the league's lantern and a founding member!? I don't know. That sounds a little far-fetched. He went out of his way to use Cyborg (for his race) as a founding member so there can be a spot for Hal in the New 52. I just don't see him being passive about John being the founding member of the Justice League. But hopefully I'm wrong. I certainly don't want to view the guy like he's the boogeyman to John Stewart. And if this is true (I hope), then my views on him are completely wrong.

[SecretWarrior]

Sorry, can’t see it. Alfred Enoch is who I’m hoping for. He’s got chops, the look, the age, and the height.

[Sodam Yat]

The link does sound promising. Since John has been treated really good, I'll remain optimistic. I would LOVE to see my favorite character appearing in the Justice League. Too bad Cyborg is not going to be recast. I understand Ray Fisher screwed up and put himself in that position, but they shouldn't take it out on the character, though.

[Alpha]

Sorry, can’t see it. Alfred Enoch is who I’m hoping for. He’s got chops, the look, the age, and the height.

I like the deep voice, the temperate eyes and the sly smile. It's very 70s/90s John Stewart. Plus he can easily be the soldier and architect type.

I quite like Alfred Enoch, but he has a very slim body type, a high voice.

[Sodam Yat]

I could see Trevante Rhodes as John Stewart. He's one of my top picks.

[chief12d]

The link does sound promising. Since John has been treated really good, I'll remain optimistic. I would LOVE to see my favorite character appearing in the Justice League. Too bad Cyborg is not going to be recast. I understand Ray Fisher screwed up and put himself in that position, but they shouldn't take it out on the character, though.

I think the fact Ray Fisher’s split was on bad terms doomed Cyborg. The character has been consistently well received in the DCEU but the chaotic and accusatory nature of Fisher’s exit makes Cyborg a controversial character in executives’ eyes given the tone of racial discourse in America. The guy is still taking time out of his day to bash WB on social media for mistreatment and recasting the character in this climate would draw a lot of criticism online. The leaks also explained that a huge part of WB’s decision making is based on how audiences respond on social media so I imagine WB thinks recasting Cyborg would draw more criticism than it would praise, especially at the outset.

Plus he’s not exactly seen as an A-tier character so he’s seen as more expendable than Batman and Superman. Not to mention that the DCEU is ramping up the introduction of black characters like Static, Black Canary (a race swap), and John Stewart, who will likely be their flagship GL. Cyborg doesn’t carry the DCEU’s black representation on his back like he did back in 2017. Had Ray Fisher rolled with the punches and not been so vocal about his problems with the studio, Cyborg likely would’ve retained his position as one of the main leads of the Flash film and had a spin-off movie lined up.

John doesn’t benefit from Cyborg not being recasted, but he’ll likely be positioned as DC’s most prominent black male hero moving forward, which is a trend we’ve already seen in the comics. I wonder who will direct the GL movie.

[SecretWarrior]

I like the deep voice, the temperate eyes and the sly smile. It's very 70s/90s John Stewart. Plus he can easily be the soldier and architect type.

I quite like Alfred Enoch, but he has a very slim body type, a high voice.

Too old. John is upposed to be a rookie. And I see him as a complete clown because of those Old Spice commercials.

Enoch would be to GL what Pattinson is to Batman.

[Cosmic Emerald 23]

Casting for John is kinda tough for me rn since Michael B Jordan and Johnathan Majors are off the table.

[Alpha]

What's the point of making John a rookie/ giving him an origin story? The set up of what the Green Lanterns are is very easy, and I think the most interesting things John could do would come from the later era. Unless you think DC will actually adapt the social critique stories in the 70s (which I don't believe for a second).

[Cosmic Emerald 23]

What's the point of making John a rookie/ giving him an origin story? The set up of what the Green Lanterns are is very easy, and I think the most interesting things John could do would come from the later era. Unless you think DC will actually adapt the social critique stories in the 70s (which I don't believe for a second).

This isn't me saying you're wrong, just providing my perspective.

I actually like that John is set to be a rookie. I think it signifies that they're committed to John as the head GL of the film franchise for the future. If they started with him as a veteran, I think it'd be all too easy to bring in the younger Lanterns as the true main character(s) while John serves as the old mentor. That's one thing that's bugged me about John's portrayal for a while now; he's always written like an old dude (even if he isn't canonically old), I miss the youth and vibrance he had in the 70s/80s.

As for the social critique I also think it will be forgone for just pure cosmic adventure (which I'm not opposed to but I see how it's important to the character). I guess what they could do is have an allegorical story set in space with a race of aliens to keep it cosmic since a lot of people's complaint about the Reynolds one was that he was on Earth too much.

[SecretWarrior]

This isn't me saying you're wrong, just providing my perspective.

I actually like that John is set to be a rookie. I think it signifies that they're committed to John as the head GL of the film franchise for the future. If they started with him as a veteran, I think it'd be all too easy to bring in the younger Lanterns as the true main character(s) while John serves as the old mentor. That's one thing that's bugged me about John's portrayal for a while now; he's always written like an old dude (even if he isn't canonically old), I miss the youth and vibrance he had in the 70s/80s.

As for the social critique I also think it will be forgone for just pure cosmic adventure (which I'm not opposed to but I see how it's important to the character). I guess what they could do is have an allegorical story set in space with a race of aliens to keep it cosmic since a lot of people's complaint about the Reynolds one was that he was on Earth too much.

Bingo.

And not only was he younger in his debut--



But all the descriptions of the project call him a rookie.

Not trying to see John become someone's old Black mentor/magical negro type, like Morpheus or Nick Fury or something. I'd rather he be a leading man hearthrob type in the vein of Cavill, Pattinson, Hemsworth, etc. We've had enough old Black mentors servicing the stories of young White rookies. Would be great to see the reverse. I want to hear male-preference fans swooning over him, starting fan clubs, making him their background wallpaper, making tirst trap edits, etc.

[Frontier]

I always imagined John as an experienced GL in his late 20's, early 30's, coming off the DCAU.

The only GL I feel really needs to feel young are the "kids" (Kyle, Simon, Jessica). Unless it's a deliberate Year One take.

Also are we assuming they're dropping the buddy cop aspect entirely?

[SecretWarrior]

John in the DCAU was probably at least 35, but probably 40 or somewhere around there. He served some unspecified time in the U.S. Marine Corps, but apparently long enough for it to seriously shape his character. And I've read accounts from the production team and character bios saying he was Green Lantern for 9 to 15 years before Justice League. I'm going to assume that version of John was never an architect. If he was, we would also have to factor in the time it would take him to get his degree.

That's probably why the character is usually "coded" as older. His most influential interpretation was just about the opposite of a rookie. He actually saw his fellow team mates and rookies and initially didn't take them seriously because they weren't sanctioned by any organization like he was in the GLC and had been in the military.

He was the same age as Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent in the DCAU.



No reason for him to be old if guys like Pattinson and Cavill get to start young.

John deserves casting on part with them, Steve Rogers, Thor, Wolverine, etc. Those characters have gotten tons of development and several appearances because the actors were cast young at the start. Not to mention, GLC hasn’t even started production, so you have to add at least 2 years to the actor’s age.