Rumor: HBO Max to Reboot Green Arrow Minus ‘Arrow’ Star Stephen Amell
According to a new scoop, the Green Arrow may receive new life on HBO’s fledgling streaming service, though it appears the new series will take to the streets of Star City without iconic Oliver Queen actor Stephen Amell or any connection to Greg Berlanti’s CW-based DC universe.
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Ed Lauder of Small Screen writes that HBO Max is reviving the property with a new interpretation of the character, noting that in an attempt to be more faithful to his comic book appearance, this rumored reboot will present a “very different” tonally from Amell’s on Arrow.
“According to multiple sources,” Lauder reported, “the idea is to keep the character closer to the comic book version, which isn’t quite as dark as the Amell take on the comic book hero.”
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The CW show, which spawned an entire universe, and later a multiverse, is comparable to The Dark Knight and other gritty superhero movies, albeit on a smaller, television-budget scale.
Oviously, the perception of what elements reflect the source material most ‘accurately’ depends on who is writing the comic and in what era, considering how Mort Weisinger’s take on his creation was distinct from Mike Grell’s influential run on the character and how both are quite distinct from Denny O’Neil’s topical, socially conscious approach to the Emerald Archer during the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series.
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Lauder adds that “multiple sources” have confirmed his story, before reporting that the new production will have “a ‘James Gunn’ twist’
Rather than a standalone reboot of Arrow, Lauder states that HBO Max’s Green Arrow series will be connected to the recently-announced Peacemaker series starring John Cena, a spinoff of Gunn’s upcoming The Suicide Squad.
Peacemaker will be both produced and written by Gunn, with the acclaimed director also set to to direct some of the episodes in the show’s first season, and will reportedly focus on real-world issues, making it an ideal setting in which to introduce DC’s Robin Hood analogue.
“WB [is] about to reboot the Green Arrow for HBO,” Lauder shares from one of his sources. “No casting details as of yet. They intend to introduce him in [an] HBO Max series and it’s looking like it is going to be Peacemaker. And it will be a major departure from The CW version.”
The hope appears to be that Queen’s appearance on Peacemaker will open up the door for not only a new Green Arrow series on HBO Max, but also possible incorporation into the DC Extended Universe.
Thanks to the recent boost in popularity the character has enjoyed thanks to his eight-season portrayal by Amell on Arrow, which ultimately ended in his death during the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event, giving Green Arrow his own movie would be sure to spark the interest of both producers and fans.
Before his prime time solo debut, Queen was portrayed on Smallville by Justin Hartley in a take that wavered at times between dark and campy compared to Amell’s interpretation. As such, one could argue that Hartley’s performance was eclipsed by Amell’s embodiment of Queen, in a performance comparable in its marriage of actor-and-character to those of Robert Downey, Jr., as Iron Man or Christopher Reeve as Superman.
John Cena makes his debut as Peacemaker next summer in The Suicide Squad.
What do you make of this rumor? Would you be excited to see a new version of Green Arrow? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!
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