This DC Animated Series Paid A Big Price For Its Character’s Live-Action Flop

These days, we’ve gotten pretty used to seeing heroes come and go in animated series and live-action films. It’s almost something we take for granted. We’re fortunate enough to have the classic Batman: The Animated Series, new Superman films, and tons of other DC Comics content. However, there’s at least one story of a character’s franchise falling, and it had everything to do with a box office flop. This animated series only got one season before poor ticket (and toy) sales forced it all to come to an end. Given the potential and success of the series, it felt like a waste to the fans.

Yes, we’re talking about Green Lantern: The Animated Series. It was a seriously underrated animated series with a lot of potential and it scored a few notable achievements along the way. It was the first Green Lantern television series, not to mention the first CGI run between DC Comics and WB, which is a fairly big deal. It had solid critical reviews and even got a comic book spin-off series (not to be confused with the primary Green Lantern series). Naturally, there were also a few toy sets, including a deal with Mattel that likewise got quashed in the fallout of the live-action Green Lantern film.

The Unlimited Potential of Green Lantern: The Animated Series

Right away, it was easy for DC Comic fans to fall in love with Green Lantern: The Animated Series. The story followed a few classic characters, primarily Hal Jordan, with Kilowog at his side, and a few cameos along the way. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Atrocitus and his lot. The series also threw in a few surprises, such as the introduction of a very unique Green Lantern.

Unlike a lot of series, this one didn’t run viewers through the origin stories again. Instead, it started off with Hal Jordan already being an established member of the Corps, and yes, that does mean he’d be causing trouble for years. That may explain how he and Kilowog quickly became central to a new plot, as they stole a ship and got stranded out in the middle of Frontier Space. Alone but for minimal backup (remember that additional Green Lantern we mentioned?), Hal and Kilowog find themselves at the forefront of a battle against Atrocitus and his fury. Not exactly an ideal position to be in, right?

Green Lantern: The Animated Series was full of strong character development, cohesive storytelling styles, and some surprisingly mature themes. It dove headfirst into debates revolving around redemption and grief, trusting its audience to follow along and even fill in the gaps as needed. In other words, Green Lantern: The Animated Series had a solid foundation for success, so what happened?

How Green Lantern: The Animated Series Got Cut Short

Green Lantern: The Animated Series ran from 2011 to 2012 and was even nominated for a few awards. None of that was enough to save the series, not once the live-action Green Lantern film tanked toy sales. The sad truth is that, somewhere along the way, funding for GL animated toys and GL live-action toys got conflated, so when one did poorly, so did the other. This had a domino effect, explaining how one cherished series ceased to be.

Let’s take a step back and acknowledge the elephant in the room. The live-action Green Lantern film we keep referencing is the 2011 film starring Ryan Reynolds. It’s undisputedly a box-office flop, and even Reynolds has made it a point to poke fun at the movie. The film was meant to be the first in a series, and we all know how well that worked out.

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What nobody expected is that the movie would somehow pull down other productions in the process. It’s mind-boggling that toy sales still play a relevant role in funding (but is unquestionably true). Given how close the release time was between the animated series and the live-action film, it is understandable that the toy lines were conflated, so while this is a disappointing turn of events, it is borderline understandable.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series was a vibrant and remarkable series that was cut short of its time. The writing was quick and intelligent, knowing when to trust the audience and when to push the envelope. Even though the series ended on what could be considered a cliff-hanger (because of the whole cancellation mess), it somehow feels intentional, like they were once again leaving the audience to see how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series is available to rent through Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video.