Garret Dillahunt is addressing the casting rumors that he’s playing Green Arrow in Lanterns. Of course, the funny thing about these Green Arrow rumors is Dillahunt is the one who sparked the conversation, after the actor shared Lanterns storyboards that showed him looking very much like the Emerald Archer, Oliver Queen. Lanterns stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as Hal Jordan and John Stewart, respectively, and Hal and Oliver do have a history together. So was Dillahunt just leading fans on, or will Lanterns actually see him portray Green Arrow? For now, the answer is leaning towards the former.
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A post on Garret Dillahunt’s Instagram page contains his “confession,” where the actor lays out that him wearing Green Arrow’s signature hoodie, eye mask, and goatee facial hair was just “a Halloween costume from a few years back.” He adds that he never meant to get fans’ hopes up, though that’s exactly what fans do! We look for every little clue or Easter egg to try to decipher what comic book projects like Lanterns are about, and who will possibly show up in them.
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“No no no! Me? I should be so lucky, but no. Just a Halloween costume from a few years back,” Garret Dillahunt captioned his Instagram post. “I’m just a nerd just a fan. Unless they want one-legged, conspiracy-theorist paranoid old man Ollie, then maybe I have a shot. But…no. No intent to rile up.”
Of course, Dillahunt’s statement doesn’t explain why he had professional storyboard artwork of himself looking like Green Arrow. The storyboard even had artist Seth Adams’ social media handle attached to it. Followers in Dillahunt’s comments are split down the middle between those who believe him, and those who think Dillahunt is just trying to cover his tracks.
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn responded to the Green Arrow rumors, and fans don’t seem to believe him either. “Haha no,” Gunn wrote on Threads in response to the question about Dillahunt playing Green Arrow. It’s a simple and short response, and the filmmaker is known for squashing rumors online before they get out of hand. Gunn is never shy to speak up, which is what he’s done with Lanterns, so that has to be respected in a sense.
Garret Dillahunt plays a character named William Macon in Lanterns. The cast includes Paul Ben-Victor (Entourage), Kelly Macdonald (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew), Poorna Jagannathan (Deli Boys), Sherman Augustus (Stranger Things), Nicole Ari Parker (And Just Like That…), Jason Ritter (Matlock), Chris Coy (Lawmen: Bass Reeves), with Ulrich Thomsen (The New Pope) as Sinestro.
The last actor to portray Oliver Queen in live-action was Stephen Amell in Arrow, which ran on The CW for eight seasons. Arrow was the first DC live-action series to debut on The CW, and it helped launch what would become known as the Arrowverse on the network. It spawned spinoffs in The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Supergirl, Batwoman, and Superman & Lois. The shows even crossed over during event storylines like the adaptation of Crisis on Infinite Earths.
What do we think about the debunking of Garret Dillahunt as Green Arrow in Lanterns? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
