Greg Berlanti reveals how his time working on the maligned Green Lantern movie led to the creation of Arrow and the entire Arrowverse franchise.
Greg Berlanti, the creator of the popular Arrowverse franchise, reflects on the bad reaction to the Green Lantern movie and how that ended up paving the way for the multiple TV series that now make up the Arrowverse. Berlanti had a long history in television, having written for such series as Dawson’s Creek and Everwood before being hired in 2007 to write and direct Green Lantern for Warner Bros. As of February 2009, Berlanti was no longer attached to directing and later confirmed. that he had nothing to do with the finished product, even though his name was listed as a screenwriter.
In 2012, Berlanti signed another Emerald DC hero, Green Arrow, and developed what would become The CW series. arrow . Arrow ‘s success led to a string of other DC superhero shows like The Flash , Supergirl , Legends of Tomorrow , and Superman and the Lois all set within a shared universe called the Arrowverse, which Berlanti helped develop. Berlanti is even involved in the unknown DC project being developed by Jensen Ackles, which isn’t bad for someone whose name was attached to one of the nastiest DC film adaptations.
In an interview with THR Berlanti discussed Green Lantern ‘s failures and said that it was that project that led to the creation of the Arrowverse. Berlanti said it was a harrowing experience but it was time to work on Green Lantern that introduced him to people involved with DC television, eventually leading to the creation of Arrow . He commented on how things have finally come full circle now that he’s working on Green Lantern again, this time as a TV series for HBO.
Despite the disappointment of Green Lantern , Berlanti has found ways to sneak references to the movie into the Arrowverse. He has referenced Ferris Airspace on numerous occasions, and in The Flash Barry Allen mentioned a missing pilot, likely a reference to Hal Jordan. Then, in the Arrowverse Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, footage of Green Lantern was shown, designating it as Earth-12 in the DC Multiverse. Arrow ‘s ending ended with a tease that John Diggle (David Ramsey) would become the Arrowverse’s incarnation of Green Lantern John Stewart, but those plans may have been shelved due to the aforementioned Green Lantern .Series for HBO Max.
The Arrowverse has been going for ten years now, and even with series like Arrow , Black Lightning , and Supergirl ending their run, the franchise is still going strong. Both The Flash and Superman and Lois are expected to return for another season, and while Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman are still on the air, two new series are coming to The CW: Gotham Knights and a John Diggle-centric series. entitled Justice you. On the non-Arrowverse side of things, HBO Max is greenlighting more TV series based on DC heroes. The scope of the DC Universe is much larger than it was when Berlanti was working on the Green Lantern movie, and the Arrowverse is a huge part of that.
