Lanterns star Garret Dillahunt is setting the record straight on his Instagram Stories post that had the entire fandom believing he had been cast as Green Arrow for James Gunn’s DC Universe.
Earlier this week, Dillahunt posted a storyboard of himself as the Emerald Archer, followed by an actual shot of himself in costume as the fan-favorite superhero, complete with green eye mask and blonde goatee, mainstays for the character. Screenshots of the Instagram Stories posts quickly spread across social media, leading to DC Studios head James Gunn having to come out and say that the actor had not been cast as Green Arrow in the DCU.
Now, Dillahunt has addressed his Instagram Stories posts that took the internet by storm, releasing a statement on the social media website that read, “No no no! Me? I should be so lucky, but no. Just a Halloween costume from a few years back. I’m just a nerd just a fan. Unless they want one-legged, conspiracy-theorist paranoid old man Ollie, then maybe I have a shot. But…no. No intent to rile up.”
Check out Dillahunt’s Instagram post below:
Part of the fandom’s interest in Dillahunt’s Green Arrow posts stems from the fact that the actor had previously been cast in the upcoming DCU series Lanterns as William Macon, a “modern cowboy” described as “a self-righteous, conspiracy-minded man who masks his ruthless ambition behind a charming and calculated facade.” This led many a fan to theorize that William Macon, an original character created just for the show, was being used as a placeholder to keep Green Arrow’s appearance in Lanterns a secret.
However, that is seemingly not the case, with the Green Lantern Cops remaining the only superheroes confirmed to appear in Lanterns. Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler lead the HBO drama as Green Lanterns John Stewart and Hal Jordan, respectively, with the series following the two intergalactic cops as they are “drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland,” per the synopsis.
Lanterns is slated to premiere on HBO in 2026.