Ah, yes. Lobbying for a role. It’s a time honored tradition with hit-or-miss results. As fans, we’ve seen high-profile suggestions be taken- like the seemingly casual way that Channing Tatum got Gambit by just mentioning that he’d love to do it. We’ve also seen people push hard for roles, but never be given a shot (sorry, Sean Young!). Which brings us to this weekend’s buzz surrounding Tyrese Gibson. The Fast & Furious series star is currently using social media to campaign for the role of John Stewart in a Green Lantern reboot.
The action star, and former model, took to his Facebook and Instagram pages to post the following images:
Gibson also reposted a plea from a fan-run Instagram account that told fans to give him a chance, since Idris Elba can’t do it and Gibson is so serious about wanting the role.
I’ve been asking around and, as of now, this looks like a one-sided quest. There’s no word on whether DC is paying him any mind. At this point, the only aspect that rings true is that the next cinematic Green Lantern we’ll see will be John Stewart, and not Hal Jordan. This is conceivably to help avoid reboot fatigue from fans who just saw a Hal Jordan Green Lantern a few years ago, and possibly to help capture the diversity buzz that comes from mixing up the casts of their franchises a bit. Both Marvel and DC have been scoring points against each other for projects like Wonder Woman, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and Cyborg, which will put females and African-Americans at the forefront of their franchises.
I’m currently doing some digging to see if Gibson’s campaign is garnering the right kind of attention from the people that can help make it happen. So far, it seems, it’s just one man’s dream.
Casting buzz for a John Stewart Green Lantern began last year when another Fast & Furious star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, started dropping hints he play the part. It was later revealed that WB/DC more or less offered him an open-ended deal where he could choose from a handful of available characters- Stewart was an option, as were Shazam and Black Adam. Johnson eventually decided on Adam.
SOURCE: Tyrese Gibson
