'Green Lantern' moves forward with Black hero John Stewart: Report

HBO MAX is shifting gears with the Green Lantern TV series after a long break with John Stewart, DC's first Black superhero, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

The showrunner and writer Seth Grahame-Smith exited the show after completing the script of the first season in the name of the creative overhaul.

Insiders told THR  that Grahame-Smith, who was roped in as writer and showrunner following the year Green Lantern was announced, decided to exit the project after witnessing several top brasses changing at HBO MAX, its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, producers Warner Bros. Television, and now DC Comics.

The report adds the DC U-turn on Green Lantern came at a pivotal time, when the showrunners initially focused on shooting the superhero series centered on Alan Scott, an openly gay, with a "multitude of other Lanterns — from comic book favorites to never-before-seen heroes."

With the DC Comics box Walter Hamada's departure, John Stewart was back to kickstart the series.

When the show was earlier announced in October 2019 by HBO Max, it was slated as one of the "biggest DC shows ever made," with a budget estimated at around $120 million.

However, with the current financial restructuring, the approved show budget is expected to be considerably less than initially estimated.