Nikolaj Coster-Waldau As The New Green Lantern?
if a new rumor is to be believed, Green Lantern might be making his return, this time played by Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Green Lantern has been almost a non-entity in DC’s films and television shows since 2011’s disastrous Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds. But if a new rumor is to be believed, Green Lantern might be making his return, this time played by Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
The news comes from the notoriously questionable source, Grace Randolph, who posted on her Twitter account that Green Lantern casting could be coming soon and that the lantern would be taken up by none other than Jaime Lannister, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Randolph also says filming would begin in January, and the tweet included #HBOMax.
Now keep in mind, Randolph has been said many times this year that Reynolds would actually be returning to the franchise in Zack Snyder’s Justice League and restated this claim as recently as last month. However, Randolph’s claims for Ryan Reynolds or Nikolaj Coster-Waldau being cast in the role have received no confirmation.
Considering that Reynolds has consistently mocked his involvement in previous superhero films like Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, his addition to Justice League seems extremely unlikely, especially if the actor still wants to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Deadpool. But theoretically, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau would make far more sense than Reynolds, especially considering his existing relationship with HBO and the implications that this new Green Lantern project would be on HBO Max.
If this rumor is true, this wouldn’t be the first time that Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has been considered for a superhero role. For 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau screen-tested for the role of Brock Rumlow, also known as Crossbones. Other actors like The Strain’s Kevin Durand and Lost’s Josh Holloway also tried for the role, before eventually going to Frank Grillo.
Since the end of Game of Thrones last year, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has stuck to smaller roles, such as last year’s Brian De Palma film, Domino and the mystery, Exit Plan. This year, however, has been a bit more packed for the actor, as this year, he’s released Krudttønden, the thriller The Silencing, and he’s played Macbeth as Los Angeles’s Geffen Playhouse. He’s also currently filming A Taste of Hunger, where Nikolaj Coster-Waldau stars as one half of a culinary couple trying to earn a Michelin star.
Whether or not Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is in talks to play the Green Lantern, DC has been trying to revive the character since the failure of 2011’s Green Lantern. Green Lanterns have appeared in 2013’s Man of Steel, and 2017’s Justice League, although not in any major role. DC has had Green Lantern Corps in development since 2014, so there’s clearly still interest in the project, they just likely don’t want to make another big mistake with the character. The film is rumored to feature Hal Jordan and John Stewart and has been called “Lethal Weapon in space.”
Green Lantern Corps has been pushed around for years now, having missed its original release date of July 24, 2020, and having been reworked by several different writers. The last reports showed that Geoff Johns was expected to turn in his draft of the story at the end of 2019. But with many DC Extended Universe films already in the works, and HBO Max as DC’s home for new content lately, maybe a Nikolaj Coster-Waldau-starring Green Lantern series wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
