Looks like Ben Affleck is not the only big name interested in the Justice League franchise.

After appearing as the sentry of the rainbow bridge in 'Thor: The Dark World; it looks as though Idris Elba is keen on a DC role… and he'd apparently like to play the Green Lantern.

It seems Idris Elba is really getting around - after starring as Heimdall in this year's 'Thor' sequel, it turns out that he was also up for the role of Luke Cage in the unfortunately defunct movie adaptation. But now the man himself reveals he wouldn't mind taking on a DC role… and he might have the Green Lantern in his sights.

It's no secret that comic book fans have a tendency to create some interesting fan art… but it's not very often you get to see stars such as Elba respond to them. But taking to twitter, he decided to retweet a rather cool-looking image of himself as the Green Lantern. And he definitely looks rather keen.

"Thank you baby love," he said to the original poster. "I like this idea…"

[Tweet] [http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/notyetamovie/news/?a=90370]

The image above shows us exactly how Idris Elba would look if he eventually took to the Green Lantern costume. And honestly, I think he looks pretty awesome. But could Warner Bros. go down this road in preparation for the rumoured Justice League movie?

If you ask me, it certainly makes a lot of sense.

Let's face it - the 2011 'Green Lantern' movie wasn't exactly brilliant. Starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, it's fairly obvious that if they want to include the Green Lantern in the ranks of the Justice League, they're going to have to do something about the rather dodgy legacy this film has left behind. But is a reboot such a good idea so soon after the original film?

Perhaps they'd be better served by shifting the story further along…. replacing Hal Jordan with the later Green Lantern hero, John Stewart. And if you ask me, Idris Elba would make an excellent choice for the role.

Will Warner Bros. go down this route? We'll have to wait and see… but I get the feeling Elba may get a call if they do.

What do you think of this cool piece of fan art? Would Idris Elba make a good Green Lantern? Let us know what you think in the comments below…

Ryan Lestonis a comic book movie geek from Cardiff who can't wait to hear more about the rumoured Justice League movie. His favourite DC film is The Dark Knight and he was hugely impressed with Henry Cavill as Superman. FollowRyan LestononTwitterorFacebook.

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/idris-elba-wants-play-green-lantern-092500349.html

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Time for some Stacker Pentecost/John Stewart Comparisons

Gallery

This idea is awesome... thus, I am 99.9% sure it will not happen

HELL TO THE YES. MAKE THIS HAPPEN, WB!

I want Hal to be in the first JL film. John can be in a sequel

It's like he's the only black actor now or something haha Nobody ever mentions anyone else.

MMH isn't going to get picked over Flash.

And I personally pick Aquaman over him.

Elba gets mentioned because he is ridiculously talented. Not because he's black.

This story is blowing up on CBM.

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/notyetamovie/news/?a=90370

HUGE fan support on every site I've seen this story on. You can count me in on that support. Frickin BRILLIANT casting.

And John is the GL most fans want anyway--

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/29/hero-worship-who-should-be-the-new-live-action-green-lantern?abthid=51ce28f6d062944b09000015

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?457700-Justice-League-Movie-and-Green-Lantern-Reboot-John-Stewart-or-Hal-Jordan

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?465444-Justice-League-Movie-Which-Green-Lantern-Hal-Guy-John-Kyle-or-Simon

John > Hal.

I'd be down for this.

Wow, that's funny, I don't remember Hal being black.

But really, IF they go with John, he'd be a prime choice.

I can go for this.

@superdork:

:those polls you linked have only a couple hundred votes.

that is nothing. and certainly not "most comic fans"

the ign poll didn't even list amount of voters.

even the polls on this site don't get into the 1000's

@fallschirmjager: Which one is your favorite?

Kyle

@fallschirmjager: Well, you have to go on more specialized sites for polls like that, which ask comic fans what they want directly. And I'm pretty sure the general audience either doesn't care about GL or thought he was black as evidenced by the last GL movie response and tanking, haha.

WB will get on this bc he's a very popular actor who will be nominated for an Oscar for playing Mandela. You can bet your booty Affleck and the studio heads will be calling this guy soon. Marvel's already looked at him for several roles for a reason. If he weren't Heimdall already, he'd also be a great Black Panther.

Ohhhh, so we're talking about him for Jon Stewart and not Superman because of something else? I see haha

Hal > John...but he'd make a great John.

Please WB make it happen. But even if Elba doesn't play John, Chadwick Boseman would be another good choice. Especially if they're looking for a younger actor.

He would have made an excellent Superman.

I personally would like to see him as Lex because Hal should be in the JLA movie.

He can play anyone you want, regardless of the character's race.

@fallschirmjager: Fascinating.

Anyway, as I was saying before, this guy seems to come up in everything now. I just wonder if this extends beyond internet comic book fans.

I generally like Hal better then John, but I could get behind this.

@fallschirmjager: Elba for Green Lantern, Bradley Cooper or Ralph Fiennes for Lex Luthor.

To me after seeing T:TDW it was apparently his talent was being underutilized. It was only natural comic book fans would go crazy with fancasting (like they always do).

He was also the only actor worth anything in Pacific Rim. I love Charlie Hunnam in SoA, but he was basically just playing Jax in that movie.

And since half of the "fans" only exposure to comics is the cartoon, they all cry for John in JL movie.

I remember seeing a tweet where some guy said "Marvel is whitewashing their characters. GL is black. smh"

One of the bigger facepalms in my life.

Still want Hal. The guy doesn't even seem to have the slightest knowledge on green lantern or even john stewart.

JL doesn't have to be married to any one GL so I'd support Idris Elba being John in the first JL movie. Either John or Hal is acceptable for JL movie but only those 2.

I'd rather have a great actor playing John Stewart than some random rushed choice actor threw in just so they can have Hal Jordan. Hal Jordan has never been a necessary member of the league imo and his role can easily be filled by other Lanterns and has been shown in comics and tv shows.

People need to get over the fanboyness and allow Warner to make the best Decision for the movie.

Wow it makes me sick on how much hal jordan has so much support its also another reason why I hate geoff johns racist @ss b*tch

@captain13: I never woulda thought of Ralph Finnes as Lex but kudos.

I think if WB casts Elba as Stewart then majority of the fans will forgive them, he with Affleck can bring maturity and star power to the cast of JL.

What has MMH to do with this thread?

I think he would be a good choice and its shame that Marvel with all these great actors keep making their parts smaller with each passing films. And it would be great to provide with some variety within Justice League's ranks. And wasn't there rumours about Charlie Hunnam linked with a Flash film?! Sorry to bring that up since we were talking Pacific rim briefly.

I support John Stewart being the Green Lantern of the cinematic universe and I support him being played by Idris Elba, so this is really exciting!

I'd rather have Aquaman over GL. I want to see what affects the world engine had on sea life and Atlantis.

Idris Elba as Green lantern would be great !

Idris Elba is a badass. He was the best part about Pacific Rim and that's a movie with 200 foot tall robots fighting Godzilla-like monsters and Ron Pearlman cutting hs way out of a baby monster.

He would certainly add more legitamacy to a JL movie as John than a pretty boy white guy playing Hal or Kyle (though I do want a buddy cop GL movie with John and Guy).

Meh his Heimdall role was good I guess. And I have heard good things from Luther and other roles. It still doesn't justify the rushed fangasming over this news when Elba may not be right for the role, nor the skewed polls being produced from IGN and CBR that had less than 1000 voters on them and in no way tells the general picture of what people want from Green Lantern. And then there's the fact that, from a branding perspective, Hal has been fronted way more than John in recent years. This means WB are still way more likely to front this bandwagon than the small yet vocal John Stewart appearance. But I could get behind a John Stewart role in the Justice League film if it's done right and if they make the right actor choice like how Stewart in the Justice League cartoons was the best interpretation of the role. I'd just prefer Hal as a founding member.

Like I said in previous threads, John Stewart is the clearer choice. Comic movies prefer atleast some racial diversity because they believe it will expand their audience. I'd honestly rather Hal myself, but I wouldn't be angry if they chose to go this route, I like John. And Idris Elba is one of my personal favorite actors, and I believe he is born to play John Stewart..it just fits his personality. But then again I wouldn't get my hopes up with this rumor yet.

Hal Jordan would probably make more sense to be in the first Justice League movie, that being said, if they were to reboot it and not have Ryan Reynolds play him, Idris Elba would certainly also be a good Hal Jordan.

He would make an incredible John Stewart and I would want nothing more but to see that. Unfortunately, I feel like it's the safer bet to choose Hal first but John would be brilliant, maybe still acknowledge that Hal still exists.

@deranged_midget: They did choose Hal first and that didn't go so well. I doubt WB will ever make another Green Lantern movie because of that. Period. Idris is a great actor and the cartoon shows you can use John without ever even needing to mention Hal. And that cartoon was pretty successful.

@lvenger: Like they stopped marketing John all of a sudden after doing it for years and preparing people to see a black green lantern? People still know who John is--especially since there was so much controversy when he wasn't picked. Also, most people in the general audience don't even give a crap about the green lantern universe. Idris Elba is why they would come. He's a talented, well known, and well liked actor, who will get an Oscar nod this year for playing Mandela.

As you can tell, I support this move 100%.

Yeah, it barely made more than its budget but I feel like they had the right idea and were moving towards the right direction. The script just needed a lot of re-working. The Green Lantern mythos has the potential to be the most diverse DC film and could really help them compete with Marvel's cosmic plans, which I doubt they'll just give up. Assuming that the rumours are true, it seems like Man of Steel 2 might just help kick off the forefront for a JL film while Flash gets established through a tv show.

@deranged_midget: Yeah, I just think WB is afraid of the property now--especially since Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Thor are kind of dominating the space scene right now. The GL film was wasted franchise potential. And if WB is afraid of Wonder Woman, I can only imagine how they feel about another GL solo. At best, he'll end up like Hulk and just cameo in other movies.

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Also, on a related note, Elba and Affleck are the same age, while Cavill is younger. I have no doubt that Superman and Batman will be friends on screen, but I can also see the writers making Batman and Green Lantern close friends due to the similarity of their ages–like Iron Man and Hulk.

We may even get some post-credits scenes like this in a Batman or Justice League film–

@the_greatest_green_lantern: I gathered that one already. But that has only led to confusion when the Green Lantern film came out and uninformed ranters went on about how "Green Lantern wasn't black." Ever since Johns' run on GL coupled with his greater control as DC's creative officer and the Green Lantern film/cartoon series, the branding and backing from Warner Bros has all been about Hal. To revert back to John Stewart would be backtracking to another phase of Warner Bros' marketing which isn't something they're likely to do IMO. As I said, I'm only arguing from what their perspective may be which could be to ignore the wishes of the small minority of fans who voted on the polls and go for the cocky, self assured Kirk-like Hal Jordan who would escalate tensions and chemistry on the team with his 'charm' as opposed to Stewart's more serious, focused and authoritarian personality. Batman and Superman may fit the bill on that department already. But a John Stewart done right would be an interesting component to the mix. I just don't want it rushed in for racial diversity's sake.

@lvenger: why would using elba as gl be rushed in a movie that does not come out for years? you just seem to be throwing out any excuse you can think up, but they do not hold up.

John adds plenty of tension to the league. did you watch the cartoon? he had at least one conflict with every member of the team, and he was usually right. Not to mention he had a greatvdynakic with flash. ignoring "diversity" elba is a hell of an actor who can make cheesey lines sound awesome. i hope to hear him recite the oath soon.

wait, what is that? a disturbance in the force--a million varies bursting at once from this news.

someone needs to tweet these articles or tweets to snyder, affleck, and goyer, pronto. i cannot due to my lack of twitter account.

now we just need charlie hunnam or chris pine as flash and jaime alexander as wonder woman to round out the set

@captain13: Will you just stop attacking people who don't agree with you. He's only pointing out that John is an unthinkable choice given the way DC's head is at the moment.

@tommyjones1945: attacking? unthinkable? no and no. 1) it is called a conversation. 2) wb would be dumb not to do this. type this news in google. look at the comments on any site you find. everywhere you look, there is massive support for this. i have never seen such siupport for a casting choice. calm down, man.

@captain13: It's kinda silly how mistaken you are about my points being mere excuses and not holding up to your counters. I was only arguing from a perspective of a Warner Bros exec but since you don't like that, I'll change back to my own view. As I said, a well done John Stewart would be welcomed by me BUT such an interpretation is unlikely to happen. You yourself complain most of the time about how John has been misreprented by DC and that only Green Lantern Mosiac, Adams' social activist John (which was only a result of Adams' activism and not John as a character being the reason for John) and recently in Van Jensen's GLC got Jonh right. Those are the only times John doesn't come off as a dull square aside from the DCAU John Stewart.

And yes I practically religiously watched Justice League and JLU so I do remember the times John argued with the others. But that was a result of the writing and changes to John in the show, not John as a character. Elba is a good actor with class but the reason they may go to him is because he's a popular black actor just as Affleck is a popular white actor to play Batman. Time would tell whether they would be right for the roles and not just shoe horned in for competitive starpower and diversity for diversity's sake. Besides, this is speculation on our parts and only the execs have the power to decide anything, not the fans at all in comic book movies. If they decide to go for John Stewart, they'll probably have reasons for doing so.

@lvenger: execs just care about money and marketability. they want to clearly divorce themselves from the last green lantern film. this helps with that in many ways. elba has star power for tickets and the fans on his side. this is so poular it sells itself, which is important after the green lantern bombed.

i have to laugh and shake my head at the idea that this is diversity for diversity's sake. that is not just incorrect, it is condescending

like i said, elba is an incredibly popular choice, who can do well with roles, even when poorly written. ifbhe is not chosen now, after seeing so much support on so many different sites, there will be fan outrage. it does not matter what other actor is chosen. elba is that popular and says he wantsvthe role.

also, john is, and has never been, hard to write. he hasvthevsame personality as craig's bond or jackman's wolverine. the problem, until recently, isnt that john was written poorly, it wasvthat he was not written at all for nearly two decades in the comics despite headlining the popular mosaic and justice league cartoon, in which he was featured more than any other character.

what other excuse should i debunk for you?

@captain13: Cool. It just seemed you were being a tad to aggressive. As per the news, and why "WB would be stupid" to noot go for it, its really not true. So far, the only justice league reitaration where John is noteworthy/memorable is JL/JLU and that really doesn't exist anymore. John was on a team featuring a kid-like Flash, Hawkgirl and the like. The one DC's going to put out won't bear resemblances/won't be similar to it. The one DC's going to put has Clark, Bruce, Diana, _______, Barry, Arthur etc. and frankly the only one that works in such a team is Hal and his Captain Kirk/Han Solo gung-ho type character. Plus DC's already pushing Hal. Back-tracking all of a sudden cus of Idris elba is very unlikely and seems single minded.

CIN.

@tommyjones1945: idris= more money than any actor they could cast for hal.

once they hire idris, wb would tell comics and marketing to push john like they pushed cyborg out of the blue for no reason, lol

and how many times has the justice league been reinterepreted? just look at how much changed in the last 2 years. john is a shoe in qnd this likely means barry will crack more jokes. :D i cannot wait!