'Green Lantern Corps' Movie Will Be Written And Produced By Geoff Johns

If you're going to make a new Green Lantern movie, you might as well get the guy responsible for the definitive comic book run of the character to steer the ship.

Earlier today, it was announced that Geoff Johns was stepping down from his position as president and chief creative officer of DC Entertainment. But the popular and influential comic writer wasn't being cast out into the void. Rather, he's founded his own production company, Mad Ghost Productions, which will develop the long-gestating (it was announced in 2015) Green Lantern Corps movie via an exclusive partnership with Warner Bros.

Johns' first project with his new production company will be the Green Lantern Corps movie, which he'll write and produce for Warner Bros. and DC Films. That's big news: Johns wrote Green Lantern comics for almost a decade, and his run on the character is considered the pinnacle of Green Lantern storytelling. Like any comic book run that goes on that long, there are peaks and valleys to be found in Johns' Green Lantern stories, but there is no writer alive who better understands this wild and thrilling corner of the DC universe. Pair him with the right director and we could get something special. Something that isn't, you know, the first Green Lantern movie.

And yes, Johns was involved with the infamous 2011 movie starring Ryan Reynolds, but only as a co-producer. Him taking the creative reins of this new movie feels like an attempt to right the wrongs of that film in a big way. While that film felt cheap and earthbound, Johns' Green Lantern stories have always been unapologetically cosmic and sweeping in scope. There's no reason Green Lantern Corps can't be DC's answer to Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars.

Meanwhile, Mad Ghost Productions' official site confirms what has been rumored for ages: Green Lantern Corps won't be a solo superhero story, but team-up movie. Or rather, a "space buddy cop" movie, if you will. The film will follow both Hal Jordan (played by Reynolds in the first movie) and John Stewart, two human who find themselves drafted into the Green Lantern corps and tasked with policing the universe with willpower-fueled rings that allow them to conjure weapons, barriers, and anything else they can dream up.

That title also implies that we'll see plenty more Lanterns beyond Hal and John. While we met plenty of alien Green Lanterns in the first movie, they weren't especially memorable. Since Johns' comic run features a sprawling supporting cast of alien heroes from countless worlds, we're probably going to see a lot more non-human faces...and hopefully, we'll actually get to know them.

Green Lantern Corps has been sitting on a July 24, 2020 release date, but it's unknown if Warner Bros. is still aiming for that or if Johns and Mad Ghost Productions will need a completely fresh start. We shall see.