HBO Max Hires 'Superman And Lois' Director For 'Green Lantern' Series

Lee Toland Krieger, who this year has already directed two episodes of The CW's Superman and Lois and two episodes of the Netflix fantasy series Shadow and Bone, has been hired as one of the directors of HBO Max's upcoming Green Lantern series. The show is being produced by Arrowverse mastermind and mega-producer Greg Berlanti, and will introduce audiences to "a multitude of Lanterns" instead of focusing on just one ring-wearing superhero.

According to The Direct (via The Hollywood Reporter), Krieger has been hired to direct and executive produce the first two episodes of Green Lantern, which the outlet describes as a "big-budget sci-fi police show based on the space-faring DC characters." The show is set to span multiple decades and feature multiple iterations of Green Lantern heroes across that time period, including Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) as a secretly gay FBI agent named Alan Scott who becomes the first human Green Lantern in 1941, and Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story) as a brash and masculine dude named Guy Gardner whose plotline is set during the 1980s. Gardner will be teamed up with a half-alien named character named Bree Jarta, and the series will feature other Lanterns like Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz, fan faves like Sinestro and Kilowog, and introduce brand new heroes to the ranks of the Green Lantern Corps.

Krieger made a couple of very good independent films about a decade ago – 2009's The Vicious Kind, which features a terrific Adam Scott performance that goes against the grain of the good-guy image he later cultivated on Parks and Recreation, and 2012's melancholy-tinged rom-com Celeste & Jesse Forever, which starred Andy Samberg and Rashida Jones. Since then, Krieger has transitioned into primarily directing television. He has directed pilots for several high-profile shows, including Beyond, Riverdale, You, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Prodigal Son, Deadly Class, Superman and Lois, and Shadow and Bone, proving that he is excellent at effectively establishing the tone and look for shows which feature distinct styles and worlds. It seems like he'll be a natural fit to wrangle a big, sprawling show like Green Lantern.

I'll leave you with a quick piece of trivia. Among Krieger's other directing credits is the 2015 movie The Age of Adaline, which featured Blake Lively in a starring role. And if you'll recall, Lively co-starred in the theatrical Green Lantern movie back in 2011, playing an aviator and Ryan Reynolds' love interest, Carol Ferris.