Marc Guggenheim, co-creator of Arrow, has shared concept art and story details from the Green Lantern series HBO Max shelved before it became Lanterns. He posted the material on his Substack on 7 October.
According to IGN, Guggenheim said the original take “took place in two time periods and had the Manhunters as the primary villains.” His title pitch was Emerald Knights. The Manhunters also serve as antagonists, in a way, in the HBO series that eventually aired.
What the concept art shows
Guggenheim shared three pieces. The first shows a group of Green Lanterns fending off a horde of attacking aliens with constructs including a bo staff, a sword and shields. It was concept art for the pilot’s opening sequence, though he couldn’t recall the artist’s name.
The other two focus on characters. One is an early costume design for Guy Gardner, with the face of Finn Wittrock, who was attached to the role. Screen Rant reports that it was drawn by Gina DeDomenico from a design by Laura Jean Shannon, and that the suit would have been tweaked slightly to reflect Gardner’s Justice League International look.
The third image carries the likeness of Janelle Monáe and might look like Jo Mullein at first glance. Guggenheim said otherwise: “No, this isn’t Jo Mullein. This is the costume design by Laura Jean Shannon for a new character we had created for the series.” Screen Rant names that character as Bree Jarta. Monáe’s likeness isn’t a surprise, since writer N.K. Jemisin and artist Jamal Campbell used it to design Mullein’s look in the comics.
Two eras, one cancelled show
ComicBook.com and Screen Rant add detail from the same Substack post. Alan Scott’s story was set in 1941, with Jeremy Irvine in talks to play him, while Guy Gardner’s ran in 1984. Seth Grahame-Smith was showrunner, with Guggenheim in the writers’ room. Reports differ on the initial order, with Screen Rant citing eight episodes in one place and 10 in another, so treat the episode count as unconfirmed.
The reboot that replaced it went down well. Lanterns averaged nearly 19 million viewers per episode globally, and Season 2 is in early development, though HBO hasn’t officially renewed it.
Was Emerald Knights the same show as Lanterns?
No. It was an earlier Green Lantern project at HBO Max with a different creative team and a two-timeline structure. Lanterns is the later take that reached air.
Who would have played Guy Gardner?
Finn Wittrock, per the concept art Guggenheim shared and the reports covering it.
