Marvel Star Confirms They Passed on a Big DCU Role (& They’re Happy About It)

There is more fence-hopping than you think when it comes to actors playing both Marvel and DC roles. Take actor Djimon Hounsou, for example: he’s appeared in more DC Universe and Marvel Cinematic Universe movie roles than anyone, and doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon. Then some actors have had whole runs during the early ’00s era of superhero movies, before Marvel and DC officially veered toward the franchise universe model. A lot of fans forget (or never knew) that some of the stars they associate with iconic heroes or villains today actually started in very different roles.

Case in point: Josh Brolin. He’s going to forever be associated with playing MCU big bad Thanos, but he also brought an iconic X-Men character to life in the Fox Universe (Deadpool 2) and also starred in one of DC’s biggest bombs, Jonah Hex. In his latest interview, Brolin confirms that he was once again approached for a comic book role on the DC side of things, but that he was ultimately happy to say, ‘no thanks’ to the role.

Brolin sat down with Josh Horowitz for the Happy Sad Confused podcast and got the question of whether or not he had a harder time turning down DC or a role in James Cameron’s Avatar films. If you don’t remember, last fall, Brolin confirmed that he was in talks to play Green Lantern Hal Jordan in the upcoming HBO series Lanterns. The show will expand upon the Green Lantern mythology in the new DCU franchise, after first introducing the Corps via Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) in James Gunn’s Superman. However, in the end, Brolin passed on the series, and the role of Hal Jordan went to actor Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), who will star in Lanterns alongside actor Aaron Pierre’s Green Lantern John Stewart. Brolin wouldn’t give away a single detail about what his Lanterns role and storyline would’ve been, but was coy about praising the show.

“I heard Green Lantern… I know it’s Kyle Chandler and Paula Patton, who I did a pilot with Antoine Fuqua, with Paula Patton, who I love. And I’m super excited to see it… I can’t wait to see it,” Brolin teased. “Because I love Kyle Chandler, I think he’s solid. He’s fantastic.”

There’s a curious question in that quote, as Paula Patton has not (at the time of writing this) been officially named as part of Lanterns‘ cast. Was that Brolin misspeaking, an unintended reveal, or an earlier version of the project that’s no longer happening? Patton and Brolin did indeed star together in Training Day director Antoine Fuqua’s TV movie/pilot Murder Book (2005), so clearly Brolin did know whom he was referring to.

For his part, Brolin said “James Cameron” was the hardest one to say no to. Cameron approached Brolin for the Avatar sequels, but Brolin had Deadpool 2 and other projects like Avengers taking up his schedule.

What Is DCU Lanterns About?

Lanterns stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, two Green Lanterns from Earth Sector 2814 who are “drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.”

The cast includes Nathan Fillion, who reprises his Superman movie role as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Kelly Macdonald (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew), Garret Dillahunt (Fear the Walking Dead), Poorna Jagannathan (Deli Boys), Sherman Augustus (Stranger Things), Nicole Ari Parker (And Just Like That…), Jason Ritter (Matlock), Chris Coy (Lawmen: Bass Reeves), Jasmine Cephas, with Ulrich Thomsen (The New Pope) as Sinestro, and Paul Ben-Victor (HBO’s The Wire, Entourage) in an undisclosed role.

There has been extensive speculation among DC fans that, based on the cast list above, we will see a lot of these roles being surprise reveals of bigger DC characters and storylines. Dillahunt is suspected to be playing the villain Blackhand, while Ben-Victor is suspected to be playing Atrocitus, the rage-fueled avatar of the Red Lanterns. With Sinestro also in the mix, Lanterns feels like it could be the first herald of a larger DCU crossover event like “Blackest Night” or some other event that brings alien and supernatural forces together in some kind of “Crisis” event.

Chris Mundy (True Detective, Ozark) serves as showrunner and executive producer of Lanterns, alongside Damon Lindelof (Lost), Tom King (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow), and DC Studios co-chiefs James Gunn (Superman) and Peter Safran (Creature Commandos).

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