Geoff Johns is unshackled from the boardroom, and taking over as writer and producer of the upcoming Green Lantern Corps movie. Warner Bros. has launched a high-profile restructure of its DC Films subsidiary, with DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson exiting just last week. Part of this restructure sees Johns step down from his previous executive role, returning to the creative side of DC that is his passion.

While Johns has remained as active as possible in terms of generating new content, both for comics and the movies, the reality is that his executive responsibilities have made this rather more difficult. One project, The Three Jokers, has been delayed for years in spite of being teased at the very beginning of DC’s “Rebirth” initiative back in 2016.

According to THR, Johns is taking over as writer and producer of DC’s upcoming Green Lantern Corps movie. It’s a film Johns is uniquely suited to since his nine-year run as writer of the Green Lantern comics is beloved by comic book readers. He’s already working on the script for Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 2, and will receive a co-writing and executive producing credit on Aquaman.

Johns is clearly delighted to be able to devote himself to creating new content once again. “I took on a role at DCE because I love the characters and this universe more than anything,” he explained. “But, I want to spend my days writing and on set. I’m thrilled to get back to a more hands-on creative role.” He’ll no doubt be even more thrilled that his next project is connected to the Green Lanterns, characters he’s always loved.

Nobody knows the characters of the DC Universe better than Johns. Over in the comics, he’s one of DC’s most beloved writers, and in 2016 was the mind behind the entire “Rebirth” initiative. As part of this, he spent hours in DC’s writers room, working out all the character aspects he felt were missing. He then met with editors and creative teams, carefully building up a focus on character arcs and core relationships, focused on building up a resonant line-wide sense of hope and optimism. He literally went through the entire range character-by-character - and the result was one of the most effective comic book relaunches in decades. Meanwhile, on the small screen, Johns was a key player in establishing the Arrowverse, co-developing The Flash.

This is undoubtedly a smart play for DC Entertainment. The reality is that, until this point, one of their best creators hasn’t actually been able to devote himself wholeheartedly to creating new content. Now, all that’s changed, and Green Lantern Corps will be the first beneficiary.

More: Sterling K. Brown & Justin Hartley Are Both Down To Play Green Lantern

Source: THR

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