HBO Max has reportedly found their villain for the upcoming Green Lantern series, as Outlander and Game of Thrones star Tobias Menzies enters talks to portray Sinestro. While nothing is yet confirmed, reports indicate that the complex DC supervillain will play a major part in the series, with Menzies well equipped to do the iconic Lantern justice on screen.
An English stage, television and film actor, Tobias Menzies has accrued several high-profile titles on his curriculum vitae. Best known for playing Frank and Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall in STARZ's Outlander, for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination, Menzies has also starred in the likes of Game of Thrones, Black Mirror, Star Wars: Rebels, The Night Manager, and played Prince Philip in the third and fourth seasons of Netflix's The Crown, which earned him a further Golden Globe Award nomination.
On the big screen, the actor is recognized for roles in the likes of Casino Royale, Underworld: Blood Wars, Black Sea, and 2016's Una. With such a variety of titles and genres to his name, Menzies has played a host of different heroes and villains, and clearly has the chops to bring the complicated nature and conflicted character of Sinestro to HBO Max.
Along with the reveal that Menzies is in talks for the role, a character description of Sinestro has also reportedly been unveiled, which describes him as a "warrior monk" and the "greatest of all Green Lanterns". Sinestro is "serving as strategic commander for the Corps with all other Lanterns unquestioningly following his orders. Sinestro is also described as "the personification of grace under pressure" with unrivaled resolve and wisdom, but "a dark destiny belies his otherwise Zen demeanor."
This description suggests that Sinestro will begin the Green Lantern series as he does in the comics. Debuting in 1961 and created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Sinestro begins as a loyal Lantern who begins to question the motives of its leaders, and wonders whether there is a better way to wield the power he deems necessary. This quest for power leads Sinestro down a dark path, with the character changing his green power ring for a yellow one, becoming corrupted and ultimately turning against the Green Lanterns. While he has spent a lot of time as Hal Jordan's archenemy, in recent years Sinestro has emerged as more of an anti-hero, something which could quite easily be adapted for the HBO Max series.
The Green Lantern series will span decades, featuring three stories across three different time periods. The series will explore the activities of the Lanterns across the 1940s, 1980s, and modern day, introducing wider audiences to DC characters they have never seen before, and featuring the debut of several beloved comic book staples. Green Lantern reinvents the classic DC property through a story spanning decades and galaxies, beginning on Earth in 1941 with the very first Green Lantern, secretly gay FBI agent Alan Scott (Jeremy Irvine), and 1984, with cocky alpha male Guy Gardner (Finn Wittrock) and half-alien Bree Jarta. Finally, the series will introduce newer Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz in the modern-day setting.
Executive produced by Geoff Johns and written by Marc Guggenheim and Seth Grahame-Smith, HBO Max's Green Lantern has yet to receive a premiere date. This comes to us from The Illuminerdi.