Arrow’s fan-favorite character John Diggle was poised to become Green Lantern in the Arrowverse. But despite several hints and setups that suggested that this would happen eventually, David Ramsey never got to don the green suit or ring following the end of his run in Arrow. However, thanks to co-creator Marc Guggenheim, fans can now have a look at the designs of John Diggle’s canceled Green Lantern suits through newly revealed concept art.
The seeds of Diggle’s Green Lantern reveal were planted and he could have debuted as the Arrowverse’s version of the hero in the series finale of Arrow. While that didn’t happen, Marc Guggenheim has revealed what his suit could have looked like in live-action.
In the latest edition of LegalDispatch (“Coast-to-Coast”), he shared the above pieces of concept art showcasing John Diggle’s Green Lantern suits that team Arrow “weren’t able to slip past the powers that be.”
Guggenheim also stated that despite having plans for Diggle’s ascension to Green Lantern, a deal never went down. The higher-ups at DC did not allow the Arrowverse to dive into the Green Lantern mythology with John Diggle’s version of the character. He shared:
“Unfortunately, we never got the approval to go full ‘Green Lantern’ with Diggle, but we were always trying to push the envelope as much as possible.”
Before this, Guggenheim revealed in 2020 that Warner Bros. and DC stopped this from happening. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in 2020, he spoke of David Ramsey’s Green Lantern plans and said:
“This was something that was worked out over a year ahead with DC Entertainment. We very specifically negotiated and discussed the parameters, and I feel like to say anything beyond what we have shown you would violate our agreement with DC.”
This was a time when Arrowverse producer Greg Berlanti was developing a separate Green Lantern series for HBO Max (now MAX), while a Green Lantern Corps. movie was also in the works for the DCEU. So, that’s likely why Diggle’s Green Lantern never came to be.