The Flash and Green Lantern Unite in Epic DC Fan Art Crossover: Grant Gustin and Ryan Reynolds Join Forces

Article Overview

Grant Gustin and Ryan Reynolds reunited in a commercial, giving fans a glimpse of what a live-action team-up between The Flash and Green Lantern could have been like.

Julian Bell's fan art beautifully depicts the meeting between Gustin's Flash and Reynolds' Green Lantern at STAR Labs, igniting the enthusiasm of DC fans. Unlike the upcoming Green Lantern Corps movie and Stargirl's inclusion of the hero, the Arrowverse tantalizingly teased Green Lantern with hidden references, yet ultimately faced limitations in character exploration and budgetary constraints.

New fan art of the DC Universe brings together Grant Gustin's The Flash and Ryan Reynolds' Green Lantern, showcasing a potential live-action team-up between Barry Allen and Hal Jordan. Even though their time as these characters has come to an end, Gustin and Reynolds delighted fans with a short commercial for MNTN. The commercial went viral among the DC audience, with Reynolds saying "You'll always be my Barry" and Gustin responding with "You'll always be my Hal," marking the closest these characters have come to appearing together in live-action. The world quickly responded with enthusiasm to this unofficial crossover, and artist Julian Bell shared artwork of the Arrowverse Flash meeting Reynolds' Green Lantern, capturing the "Barry and Hal" moment that fans loved.

Why The Flash & Arrow Set Up Hal Jordan As Green Lantern But Never Paid It Off

Bell's fan art depicts a scene at STAR Labs from The Flash TV show, featuring Hal and Barry. In addition to showcasing Gustin and Reynolds in the ad, Bell cleverly includes a humorous shot of Cisco Ramon from The Flash season 1, capturing their heroic moment on camera.

Throughout the respective runs of The Flash and Arrow, the Arrowverse TV shows actually planted the seeds for Hal with multiple Easter eggs and even a cameo. In The Flash season 1, Barry mentioned a test pilot who had disappeared when they were at a closed Ferris Air facility. In Arrow season 4, an uncredited actor was seen wearing a flight pilot jacket with the name "Jordan" on it, while Oliver Queen happened to be visiting the same bar in Coast City.

The CW franchise in the Arrowverse never included Hal as a character, despite their repeated Green Lantern setups. This was due to character restrictions imposed by Warner Bros., who wanted to focus on the Green Lantern Corps movie instead. Additionally, budget concerns made it risky to create Green Lantern's visual effects for network television. Interestingly, Greg Berlanti, the creator of the Arrowverse, was also involved in the production and co-writing of Ryan Reynolds' Green Lantern movie in 2011.

Unfortunately, the Arrowverse missed the opportunity to include Hal in the franchise and the setup for John Diggle as Green Lantern never received a satisfying resolution. It's interesting to note that even though Stargirl, a show connected to the Arrowverse and set in the future, introduced Jade, Alan Scott's daughter, as the new Emerald Knight, there was no exploration of her history with the hero mantle. Hopefully, James Gunn's DC Universe, which is set to introduce multiple Green Lanterns, will compensate for the absence of this hero in The CW's lineup.

Editor's P/S

As a passionate fan of DC Comics, I am thrilled to see fan art depicting a potential live-action team-up between The Flash and Green Lantern. Grant Gustin and Ryan Reynolds' brief reunion in a commercial gave us a glimpse of what could have been, and Julian Bell's fan art beautifully captures the excitement of this potential crossover.

It's a shame that the Arrowverse TV shows never fully explored the character of Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, despite teasing his existence with Easter eggs and cameos. Character restrictions imposed by Warner Bros. and budget concerns prevented the showrunners from bringing Hal to life in a meaningful way. It would have been amazing to see Gustin's Flash interact with Reynolds' Green Lantern, especially considering that Greg Berlanti, the creator of the Arrowverse, was also involved in the production of the 2011 Green Lantern movie.

Here's hoping that James Gunn's DC Universe will give us the Green Lantern representation we deserve, with multiple Lanterns set to be introduced. While the Arrowverse may have missed its chance to fully explore Hal Jordan's story, there's still hope that the future of the DC Universe will do this iconic character justice.