Batgirl may have been told to suddenly hang up her cowl, but HBO Max’s live-action Green Lantern series is still on track to fly high.
In the wake of the recent WarnerBros Discovery shake-up — in addition to the nearly finished Batgirl movie getting unceremoniously shelved, HBO Max is merging with Discovery+ come Summer 2023, and DC is taking a harder look at its theatrical slate — and amid much rampant rumor-mongering/speculation, many are fretting about the fate of, among other things, DC’s small-screen projects.
But an HBO Max spokesperson told TVLine on Tuesday that the streamer’s Green Lantern series is “very much alive” and “definitely moving forward.” (That said, the ambitious production might not realistically bow until 2024, I’m hearing.)
Co-written and exec-produced by the prolific Greg Berlanti and Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow co-creator Marc Guggenheim, Green Lantern (working title) will reinvent the classic DC property through a story spanning decades and galaxies, beginning on Earth in 1941 with the very first Green Lantern, secretly gay FBI agent Alan Scott (played byJeremy Irvine), and 1984, with cocky alpha male Guy Gardner (American Horror Story‘s Finn Wittrock) and half-alien Bree Jarta. They’ll be joined by other Lanterns “from comic book favorites to never-before-seen heroes.”
When the DC superhero project was announced back in October 2019, Berlanti teased that Green Lantern “promises to be our biggest DC show ever made.”
LEGO Batman Movie scribe Seth Grahame-Smith, who will serve as co-writer/EP alongside Berlanti and Guggenheim, is the showrunner, while additional EPs include Geoff Johns, Sarah Schechter, David Madden and David Katzenberg.
UPDATE: On Oct. 26, it was reported that the Green Lantern series will now focus on John Stewart, with Berlanti now the lone remaining creative from the project’s original development.
Where stand HBO Max’s other DC series, including Titans, Harley Quinn and others? In short, TVLine hears that while DC may be making some tough calls as it carefully considers a 10-year film plan, HBO Max’s IP-driven, DC-based fare remains a huge priority.
Read below for the latest word on each. And as always, email InsideLine@tvline.com for scoop on any of ’em!
-
HARLEY QUINN
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max Season 3 of the Kaley Cuoco-led adult animated comedy series streamed its finale on Sept. 15, 2022; Season 4 has already been ordered, with a new showrunner.
-
TITANS
Image Credit: HBO Max The superhero team-up series was renewed back in October 2021, ahead of its Season 3 finale, and I’ve heard good things about how Season 4 (featuring The Originals‘ Joseph Morgan) is shaping up.
UPDATE: Season 4 will launch with its first two episodes, followed by weekly episodes releases through Dec. 1. An additional six episodes will then be released in 2023.
-
DOOM PATROL
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max Like Titans, it received a Season 4 pickup back in October — and it has spawned a Dead Boy Detectives spinoff (of sorts).
UPDATE: Season 4 will premiere Thursday, Dec. 8 with the first two episodes. One episode will then premiere every Thursday through Jan. 5. Six additional episodes will be released sometime in 2023.
-
PEACEMAKER
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max Filmmaker and series creator James Gunn, in the wake of the Batgirl movie bombshell, was quick (and accurate) to reassure fans of his The Suicide Squad spinoff series that more peace will be made:
No need to be worried on behalf of #Peacemaker. Our friend will still be making lots of peace in Season 2. 🕊☮️🧜♂️ https://t.co/6z1vnfITug pic.twitter.com/LsNXTD6rJS
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) August 7, 2022
-
PENNYWORTH
Image Credit: Courtesy of Epix Last fall, the Batman pre-prequel series was in one fell swoop 1) renewed for a third season and 2) relocated from Epix to HBO Max, where all of its previous seasons now stream. TVLine hears that all of Season 3 is already in the can and awaiting an exact October 2022 release date. (Watch a teaser above.)
UDPATE: Season 3 (aka Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler) premiered Oct. 6 and is streaming new episodes every Thursday.
-
THE PENGUIN
Image Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros./Everett Collection Though HBO Max months ago scrapped a prequel series to Matt Reeves’ The Batman movie, The Penguin (working title) — which was first reported on in December 2021, and in which Colin Farrell would reprise his big screen role — is still in development at the streamer.
-
'JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK'
Image Credit: Courtesy of DC In April 2020, HBO Max made a production commitment to “a major series based on DC characters in the Justice League Dark Universe,” via J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot shingle. In subsequent months, we learned that John Constantine and Madame Xanadu aka Madame X would lead series of their own, as part of that budding team-up. As reported by our sister site Variety in August 2022, both of those Justice League Dark projects remain in active development.
-
STRANGE ADVENTURES
Image Credit: Courtesy of DC Announced in October 2019 alongside the Green Lantern series, Strange Adventures aimed to explore “close-ended morality tales about the intersecting lives of mortals and superhumans” by way of “‘man of two worlds’ Adam Strange, an archaeologist-turned-intergalactic hero.
Alas, sources confirm for TVLine that — as Kevin Smith (a writer on the prospective series) recently suggested on the Hollywood Babble-On podcast — Strange Adventures is no longer moving forward at HBO Max.
Got any other DC TV shows you want an update on? Drop a note in the Comments, or email InsideLine@tvline.com!
![9-1-1: Lone Star Gives Owen a New Love Interest, Puts [Spoiler] in the Hospital](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/911-lone-star-410-pearce.jpg?w=620)
