'Friday Night Lights' Star Kyle Chandler Lands Surprising Role
09/23/2024 04:24 PM
Kyle Chandler, best known for playing Coach Taylor in Friday Night Lights, is trending on social media after landing a surprising new role.
Chandler, 59, is reportedly set to play an iconic super hero. The former Friday Night Lights and Zero Dark Thirty actor is reportedly in talks with HBO. He's reportedly set to join the network's "Lanterns" series, which will portray the Green Lantern Corps. Comic book series have become more and more popular, with Disney, Max, Amazon Prime and other networks all boasting shows based on beloved IP. But many fans did not anticipate Coach Taylor joining one of the shows. After all, he hasn't worked in a television series since he played hedge fund mogul Bill Gurley in "Super Pumped."
Coach Taylor has landed a surprising role, though.
According to reports, Chandler is set to portray the iconic Hal Jordan in the upcoming "Lanterns" series.
The show, which falls under the HBO banner, is casting and in the middle of hiring directors.
The series is looking to shoot from next January to June in Atlanta. Lanterns is described as having a gritty, True Detective vibe as it focuses on Jordan reluctantly mentoring a younger Lantern, John Stewart, who in DC publishing history was one of the company's first Black superheroes. The story sees the two characters investigating an Earth-bound murder with larger implications. Sources say that DC and the producers are looking for a young, more fresh-faced actor for the role to play opposite an older and bigger name.
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The Green Lantern has been hit-or-miss in film and television over the years. Ryan Reynolds played the iconic superhero in 2011 and the film remains one of the biggest flops in movie history. He starred alongside Blake Lively, his future wife, along with Peter Sarsgaard and Mark Strong, among others in a loaded cast.
Reynolds knew it was a massive failure.
"There was just too many people spending too much money and when there was a problem rather than say, 'OK, let's stop spending on special effects and let's think about character'," Reynolds said.
"That just never... the thinking was never there to do that," he said, adding: "And to their credit, it's a very old school way of looking at things. It's just 'Let's just keep spending our way through this.' And that was... it didn't work.
"At the same time, there are 185 people that worked on that movie – they all had an amazing time, we loved shooting it. Truly, shooting the movie was a lot of fun. But, you know, sitting in that premiere, watching that... oh my God, it's tough."
It sounds like HBO and Max will be trying something new with "Lanterns," though. The series is expected to be grittier and darker and have a "True Detective" vibe.
Chandler is one of the best character actors in the business, too. He's played several iconic roles on big shows, from "Friday Night Lights" to "Bloodline."
Hopefully, "Lanterns" will be next.
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