A Look at DC’s Soft Reboot of Movies

There may be a changing of the guard in actors portraying superheroes in the DC Universe on the big screen and small.

This speculation is occurring as the DC Extended Universe is in the throes of a “soft reboot” with the popular “Shazam!” and upcoming “Joker” starring Joaquin Phoenix setting the tone for the future of the film franchise which has always been in the shadow of the Marvel money machine.

With the exception of one confirmed upcoming TV role regarding the “Arrow”-verse crossover, no firm casting, or recasting, has been announced regarding Superman or the Green Lantern.

But that certainly doesn’t stop the speculation or debate who would be best in those roles. Oddsmakers, BetDSI among them, have jumped on the bandwagon offering odds on actors’ possible casting. Check the BetDSI review at Sportsbook Review.

Here are three castings that have garnered the most chatter as of late:

• • We’ll start with the casting that is confirmed. Brandon Routh, who wore the cape more than 13 years ago in “Superman Returns” is, indeed, returning to play the superhero from Krypton in CW’s annual “Arrow”-verse crossover. Variety reports Routh, who stars on the CW’s “Legends of Tomorrow” as Ray Palmer/The Atom, will participate in “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover.  Five of The CW’s DC Comics shows, “Arrow,” “Flash,” “SuperGirl,” “Legends of Tomorrow,” and newbie “Batwoman” will be represented in “Crisis,” which is scheduled to begin in December.

• Also, as part of “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” Tyler Hoechlin who has played Superman on “Supergirl,” will reprise the role. He might need to get used to wearing the tights a bit longer as he now the favorite to take the place of Henry Cavill in any big-screen DC movie planned that Superman would appear. Latest odds have Hoechlin as the No. 1 pick followed by Michael B. Jordan, Armie Hammer, Garrett Hedlund, and Idris Elba. Hoechlin has long been a favorite of fans for moving from the small screen to the big screen in the super role. CloserWeekly.com spoke to Hoechlin recently and though he didn’t mention the possibility of making the leap to the DC Extended Universe movie franchise, he did discuss how he sees Superman:  “Superman especially, he’s there to help, he’s there to support, he’s there to encourage and make it about other people,” Hoechlin said. “ Superman’s only hope and idea at that point is to encourage others to reach their potential as well, and that’s all he wants to do.” As of this typing, there is no Superman movie scheduled. Near the bottom of a Warner Bros list of prospective movies is “Untitled Man of Steel Sequel”; Release Date: TBA;  Status: In Development; Director: TBA; Cast: Henry Cavill (?). If Cavill doesn’t return, and he isn’t, Hoechlin would be a nice pick as a mature Superman. Maybe one who doesn’t always have to punch everything out with the bad guy but maybe reason with him. Yeah, that won’t sell any tickets, right?

• A movie that is further along in development according to several websites that seem to know about these things, like this one for example, is “Green Lantern Corps” which is about a group of humans joining an interstellar police force protecting the universe. The original release date was 2020, but no way is that going to happen. And Ryan Reynolds will not be reprising the role. This movie will not star just the singular superhero you’re accustomed to – at a minimum there will be two Green Lanterns. In a nutshell, the Guardians of the Universe created the Green Lantern Corps with multiple members to keep peace in the universe. Powerful rings given to each Lanterns ensures they are “assigned” to the proper sector of the cosmos. Lanterns come in all shapes and sizes and can be aliens or even bugs. We’ll buy tickets if a roach is cast as a superhero, by the way. One contender for a Green Lantern role is Tom Cruise. If the movie superstar were to attach himself to the project it would likely launch “Green Lantern Corps” to No. 1 movie on the DC Extended Universe calendar, right next to “The Batman” starring newly-minted superhero Robert Pattinson. This film would cast two Lanterns, and though we know of no casting calls, there have been several published reports of descriptions of the actors desired: 

• John Stewart: An African-American male, age 21 to 30. Character description: Prior to joining Green Lantern Corps, Stewart was a military sniper. Green Lantern #87 is an affordable key.
• Hal Jordan: White male age 39-50. This veteran of Green Lantern Corp was previously military test pilot.

 Hal Jordan sounds like Tom Cruise to us. Of course, can DC afford him (uh,      probably not). Other possible choices, Alex O’Loughin (maybe), Jake Gyllenhaal (could work) and Armie Hammer (no, thank you). And as for John Stewart, all our money is on Michael B. Jordan. Rumors surfaced this week that HBO would possibly have a “Green Lantern Corps” with Kyle Rayner as the lead, making Green Lantern #48 a mover this weekend, it remains to be seen how this will play out though.