Determining The Best Hal Jordan (Rumoured ‘Lanterns’ Casting Breakdown)

With last week’s news that revealed a list of five actors on the shortlist for DCU’s Hal Jordan in HBO’s Lanterns, I thought it apt to dive deeper into the casting for the character, what DC Studios is going for and which castings work better than others. Without further ado, enter to find out what I think of the Lanterns‘ castings, and what I think it means for the character of Hal Jordan in the DCU. 

As I have previously written, on September 4th, 2024, Josh Brolin was reported to have been offered the role of Hal Jordan in Lanterns. The following day, Matthew McConaughey and Ewan McGregor were reported to have been on the shortlist also. The same day, @ApocHorseman on Twitter reported that Chris Pine and Timothy Olyphant were also in consideration, bringing the total number of reported actors on the shortlist to five.

The series had been casting between the ages of 43-49, but ultimately shifted to 45-55. It should be noted that when projects are casting, there is wiggle room for the areas and that these ranges are guides and not policy. Jordan had been described as a “Green Lantern legend”, perhaps indicating that this interpretation will be a veteran of the Corps.  

The Actors

5. Chris Pine

Chris Pine has always been a pretty likeable actor to me. From his roles in the Wonder Woman films to his role in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, he tends to aim for characters who are young and charismatic at heart. Although he has played gruffer characters in films such as Hell or High Water, he does typically stay away from those roles. 

Out of the mentioned shortlist, and due to how I envision this iteration of Hal Jordan to be, I feel like he is a bad pick. Admittedly, Pine would be a great pick for a younger more stereotypical take on Hal Jordan, something akin to his portrayal of Steve Trevor in Patty Jenkins’ 2017 film Wonder Woman. But as I will unpack later, they do seem to be casting older for a reason, and Pine unfortunately finds himself younger than the age range, at age 44. Further, I don’t think the crew at DC Studios would be smart to cast him in such a prominent position following his role as Steve Trevor in the DCEU, who was a pilot, the same career as Hal Jordan. 

4. Timothy Olyphant

One of only two actors on this list who haven’t starred in a DC project, Timothy Olyphant is more known for his TV projects than his films. He’s best remembered for his roles in Fargo, The Mandalorian and as James Stacy in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. 

Although I have had limited exposure to the actor, which I feel many can relate to, I have enjoyed his work and I think he could play a pretty no-nonsense and gruff character. Similarly to Josh Brolin, who I will expand on shortly, he is 56, likely meaning that he wouldn’t stick around for too long in the DC Universe. For a HBO flagship series though, it would be unwise for the DC Studios crew to cast him in the role over some of the other actors in this list.

3. Ewan McGregor

One of the most iconic actors on this list, Ewan McGregor is obviously known for his pop culture defining role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He’s achieved dramatic fame with Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, Marc Forster’s Stay, and Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep, and has experience with DC with Birds of Prey. 

He is undeniably a brilliant actor, but he struggles to mask his native Scottish accent, which is fine, but would not feel authentic to the American heartland experience that the team behind Lanterns are trying to mimic.

2. Josh Brolin

Starting with the frontrunner, and the man who currently has the offer for the role, Josh Brolin is a revered actor, with several Oscar-winning movies to his name, but never being nominated for a lead role himself. He is best known for his role as Thanos in the MCU, Cable in Deadpool 2, Llewelyn Moss in No Country for Old Men, and Gurney Halleck in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films. On top of his work with Marvel, Brolin also has a history with DC, having played Jonah Hex in the 2010 film of the same name.

I personally do like this casting, with Brolin excelling in moody roles, as seen with True Grit, No Country for Old Men, Dune, and American Gangster. The actor is a bit on the older side, leading me to think that, while he is barely out of the age range, at age 56, the character of Hal Jordan likely won’t be in the DCU picture for more than five years. This lends credence to theories of showrunners Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King adapting the Parallax storyline. In the comics, Hal goes insane when his town is destroyed and kills all of the Green Lantern Corps, before assuming the name Parallax. I personally do not like the concept, and prefer a more sincere take on the character. 

1. Matthew McConaughey 

By far and away my ideal choice for the role of Hal Jordan, Matthew McConaughey is a best bet for many reasons. Not only did he star in the season of television that Lanterns is trying to emulate (True Detective Season 1) but he is an Academy Award-winning actor with experience in the field, with the added bonus of being a household name with a proven track record on HBO. 

He fits directly into the age range, being 54 years young, and also inspired Green Lantern: Earth One, the comic the series will presumably be based upon, indirectly, which was inspired by Interstellar. To me, he’s not only the best actor of the bunch, but the most charismatic and knows how to be no-nonsense and gruff when he has to be. 

So there you have it, my thoughts on the Hal Jordan Lanterns castings, and my ideal character choice. I do believe they may go the Parallax route with the character and am very much hoping that they do not. Regardless, I am very excited for the series and what they do with it, considering how amazing True Detective season 1 is. 

Lanterns is being developed by Tom King, Chris Mundy, and Damon Lindelof. Breannah Gibson, Brittany Worthington, Joaquín Lopez, Noah Sellman, Mani Britt, Vanessa Baden Kelly, and Ally Lucchi, also work on the series. James Gunn and Peter Safran are executive producing, and the series is in development at DC Studios for HBO.