Did Sam Worthington pass on Green Lantern? (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Yes, instead of suiting up, the Aussie actor pulled a hard pass. Why? This is because, as he put it, the whole Green Lantern gig was… “very bizarre.” And we’re not talking about his character’s spandex suit. Nope, it was the mythology that left Sam Worthington scratching his head.
In an exclusive chat with Variety, Sam Worthington revealed what made him ditch the iconic DC Comics role, and—spoiler—it wasn’t some “schedule conflict” excuse. The issue was simpler (and more bizarre) than that: the hero’s powers just didn’t make sense. “It didn’t make much sense to me—the suit comes out of his skin?” Worthington recalled. “And I was like, ‘He’s got this powerful ring that can create anything. Well, what can beat the ring?’ The answer was nothing.” So yeah, when you realize the hero has basically infinite powers and no weaknesses, things get… well, boring real quick.
Worthington’s logic here is crystal clear. “Well, something needs to beat it, or it won’t be very interesting.” The lack of a clear villain or challenge left the role feeling less than appealing. And when they handed him the actual Green Lantern ring and told him to “put it on,” he couldn’t help but ask, “But it’s not real, is it?” Cue the awkward silence.
For those who missed it, the 2011 Green Lantern film, starring Ryan Reynolds, wasn’t exactly the blockbuster DC dreamed of. It was supposed to kick off a sprawling DC cinematic universe, but instead, it bombed at the box office and became a critical disaster. Enter Reynolds, the Emerald Knight himself, who, in hindsight, was kind of stuck with a role that didn’t quite work. But hey, that didn’t stop Worthington from almost being cast—he just couldn’t wrap his head around the concept, which brings us back to that bizarre mythology.
Now, after the Green Lantern movie fizzled, the character was more or less shoved into the Justice League cameo corner, where he stayed—unnoticed and unimportant—for years. Plans to revive Green Lantern kept getting shelved like a forgotten comic book. In 2014, we thought Green Lantern Corps was coming to the rescue, with a focus on both Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Spoiler alert: it didn’t happen.
But just when you thought Green Lantern was done for good, HBO Max swooped in. Greg Berlanti, the mastermind behind the Arrowverse, was tapped to bring the Lanterns back to life with a series in 2019. Initially, it was supposed to explore different time periods, introducing multiple Lanterns like Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, and Sinestro (oh yeah, the bad guys, too). But in 2022, they gave it a refresh—now, it’s all about John Stewart, with Berlanti still in the driver’s seat.
