Was Arrow banned from using Green Lantern? David Ramsey reveals why John Diggle never donned the hero’s iconic suit within the actual Arrowverse.
For those that weren’t around when it started, one of the most popular theories when Arrow first came out was that John Diggle was actually a codename for John Stewart. While it seems farfetched now, prior superhero adaptations had certainly made more drastic changes to the source material. Many simply didn’t think it would make sense for David Ramsey’s character to be so prominent, and share so many similarities with Green Lantern, only to be his own character.
Yet as the Arrowverse went on and John Diggle was fleshed out more and more, it became abundantly clear that he wasn’t John Stewart (although the character would get another nod with John Stewart’s grandfather in the comics being Diggle’s stepdad). However, in perhaps the biggest example of fan theories looping around to becoming canon, the final episode of Arrow did give David Ramsey’s hero his own Green Lantern ring.
Why Didn’t John Diggle Become A Green Lantern?
Sadly, even though David Ramsey would continue to appear throughout the Arrowverse, he never cashed in the chance to become a Green Lantern. In fact, the thread from the Arrow finale was actually resolved by John Diggle giving up his ring in another show. The reason for this? It simply boils down to studio politics.
“Marc [Guggenheim] and I tried for six seasons,” Ramsey told Screen Rant in a recent interview. “Obviously, there is a lot of politics around property as big as Lantern. Of course, it would have been great…it wasn’t for a lack of trying, but the right decision was made.”
“I think, honestly, personally, there was so much going on at the time that it’s in the hands it should be in now, because I’m not quite sure what would have happened with as much as was going on politically, with the property. I think the reason why Diggle didn’t become the Lantern was on point for his character.”
The Arrowverse was infamous for not being able to use certain characters, perhaps the most famous example being the faceless Harley Quinn that appeared in Arrow‘s Suicide Squad episode. And given at the time Green Lantern had an HBO series (which was ultimately cancelled) and an appearance in Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League (which has its own very long history), it makes sense why David Ramsey and the team decided to scrap plans for John Diggle to complete his transformation into John Stewart.
Arrow is now streaming on Netflix. Stay tuned for the latest news regarding the future of the DC Universe!
