Television's Greatest Dad Actor Is Hal Jordan In DC's Green Lantern TV Series

James Gunn's fledgling DC Universe might've just pulled off its biggest coup yet. While the director (and newly-minted studio head) is busy putting the final touches on his new "Superman" reboot, the rest of this franchise is rounding into shape. One of the more significant projects currently in the pipeline is the Green Lantern series, which was essentially pitched to HBO brass as "True Detective" in space and is set to focus on fan-favorite hero John Stewart and his intriguing buddy-cop dynamic with an older Hal Jordan. When last we heard, the superhero show (titled "Lanterns") was reported to be aiming for the stars in the hopes of recruiting "Dune" and Marvel star Josh Brolin as the veteran Green Lantern. Those plans fell through when the actor subsequently passed on the project (honestly, if I claimed "Jonah Hex" as my first and last DC role, I'd do everything in my power to ensure that little piece of trivia stayed relevant forever), but his apparent replacement is just as exciting.

Deadline has the scoop that the great character actor and expert in dad roles Kyle Chandler is currently "in negotiations" to star in "Lanterns" as Hal Jordan. The character hasn't been seen on the big screen and in live action since 2011's "Green Lantern" misfire with Ryan Reynolds in the leading role. This time around, the superhero will be passing the torch down to John Stewart, and the search for the perfect young star for this incredibly important part is currently underway.

Sinestro's out there, and he's hurting people, and we don't know why. Okay, chances are we won't hear a riff on Kyle Chandler's infamous line from "Godzilla vs Kong," but it's fun to think about anyway. The veteran character actor, known best for his performance in the series "Friday Night Lights" and quintessential dad roles in countless movies over the years, will next set his sights on the superhero world of DC. For a series that is leaning heavily on a dynamic compared to Riggs and Murtaugh from the "Lethal Weapon" movies, "Lanterns" is shaping up quite nicely with Chandler in the more grizzled mentor-like role. There's still no word on the actor who'll be tapped to star as young John Stewart, our main character in the show, but it's likely that word will trickle out in the weeks or months ahead now that the casting of Hal Jordan is (almost) taken care of — Chandler, of course, still has to officially sign on the dotted line.

"Lanterns" comes from creator and showrunner Chris Mundy, who's known for "Ozark," divisive writer Damon Lindelof ("Lost," "Watchmen"), and DC Comics guru Tom King. The series has been described as "Earth-based" and will take on a "True Detective"-like tone, following every superhero fan's favorite corps of space cops while embroiled in a murder mystery. The series will run for eight total episodes and air on HBO, with a subsequent streaming release on Max. As an interesting side-note, THR reporter Borys Kit adds that "Chandler does not have a movie component to his deal," so don't expect him to crossover into any films. At least for now.