Writers Named for Green Lantern 2 and Flash

Talk about confident. The Green Lantern film isn't due until Spring 2011 but Warner Bros. Studios has already tapped writers for not just a sequel, but also its planned movie featuring another DC Comics icon, The Flash.

Veteran TV writers Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green and will be drafting treatments for both movies.  According to reports from sources that include Hollywood Reporter writer Boris Kit's Heat Vision and Ain't It Cool News, the trio - each contributed to the screenplay for the first GL film - will work on the script for either Lantern 2 or The Flash.

Between them, the three men's writing and producing credits include Dawson’s Creek, Jack & Bobby, Everwood, Dirty Sexy Money, Eli Stone, Brothers & Sisters, FlashForward, Heroes and Kings. Guggenheim is executive producer of ABC’s fall superhero family series No Ordinary Family, which was co-created by Berlanti. Suffice it to say they've all had long working relationships as collaborators. 

Filming for 2011's Green Lantern has been underway in New Orleans, directed by Martin Campell (Mask of Zorro, Casino Royale) with Ryan Reynolds starring as the Hal Jordan version of the DC character, who was launched during comics' "Silver Age" 51 years ago. Story reveals so far indicate the movie will be true to the comics, featuring the space-spanning Green Lantern Corps represented by denizens of numerous plants, patrolling thousands of space sectors (Earth is in 2814) and guided by the munchkin-size blue-skinned Guardians of the Universe.

The movie is the culmination of Green Lantern's rising stock since Jordan was brought back to life in writer Geoff John's and artist Ethan Van Sciver's Green Lantern: Rebirth, followed by a new monthly title and also the Green Lantern Corps comic, along with epic crossover storylines such as the Sinestro Corps War Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, and since last summer, the recently wrapped up Blackest Night and current Brightest Day, which have impacted many other DC Comics titles. 

John's and Van Sciver also recently re-launched The Flash with another Rebirth series, followed by a new monthly book written by Johns featuring "Silver Age" Flash Barry Allen, who gave his life during 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths to save the universe (or multi-verses, which all coalesced, but that's a whole other long story and there are now multiverses again in the DC Universe).

Johns, who was named CO of DC earlier this year has raved in tweets and to comic convention audiences about the Green Lantern filming.

While I'm not big on all of their work in TV - most of it just hasn't touched me at all - all three writers for the treatment are comics and Green Lantern fans; Green was writing DC's Superman-Batman title for a time, including the story arc The Search for Kryptonite, which featured Jordan as GL and also the tales found in Finest Worlds. Guggenheim has written comics such as Marvel's Young X-Men and Spider-Man. So, it's not like Hollywood past, when screenwriters were brought aboard with no clue regarding comics and being true to source material. 

As they work on the GL 2 treatment, one wonders what else they'll be incorporating from the vast mythology?  "Golden Age" Lantern Alan Scott, who debuted in the 1940s, is rumored to make some sort of appearance in the first film; will he be more prominent in the second one?  And what about fellow earth Lanterns John Stewart (still best-known to many kids for being THE GL in the two animated Justice League series), Guy Gardner (soon to star in a third Lantern comic book due later this summer) and Kyle Rayner, "the torchbearer" when there were no other Lanterns (another long story for another time)?  Will they all be included? Just one or two?  How will they be introduced.  Here's hoping these guys can pull it off.

One thing's for sure, this all continues to build up excitement for the Green Lantern film, set for release next May (MTV news online was one of the first sites to reveal some of the images seen on this page). And you wanna talk about the merchandising? From t-shirts to likely power rings to a slew of action figures, you can bet on it.  But that's another column.