Over 24 hours, a swirl of rumors emerged that actor Garrett Dillahunt was going to be playing Oliver Queen aka Green Arrow in the DCU series Lanterns, but DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has put that rumor to rest. Dillahunt joined the cast of Lanterns in November 2024, where it was confirmed that he was playing a new character, William Macon. He has been described as a modern-day cowboy who is a conspiracy-minded, self-righteous individual hiding behind a charming facade. On Apr. 24, 2025, in a now-deleted Instagram post, Dillahunt shared a series of photos of himself wearing what looked like a Green Arrow costume with the caption “Ollie Ollie oxin free” alongside some storyboard images.
The now-deleted post quickly spread like wildfire, and when DC Studios co-president James Gunn was asked on Threads if Dillahunt was playing Green Arrow in Lanterns, he responded, “Haha no.” Dillahaunt made a separate post clearing up the confusion, saying it was an old Halloween costume he had done of Green Arrow a few years back. Dillahaunt said he was just a fan of the superhero, but said his William Macon character could not be Green Arrow due to some new details he confirmed about his character. He described Macon as a “one-legged, conspiracy-theorist, paranoid old man.” See Dillahunt’s post below.
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There are plenty of reasons why fans would have assumed Garrett Dillahunt would be playing Green Arrow. Oliver Queen and Hal Jordan were famously paired up together in the Green Lantern/Green Arrow comic by writer Dennis O’Neil and artist Neal Adams from 1970 to 1972 in a story arc called “Hard-Travelling Heroes.” Like the Lanterns series, Green Lantern/Green Arrow was a more grounded storyline, taking the two emerald heroes on a road trip across the country and dealing with social issues such as racism, drug addiction, and welfare inequality. It is a defining comic for both heroes, so it makes a certain level of sense that the DCU might have drawn some inspiration for that series, including Green Arrow’s inclusion.

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However, there were questions about whether the DCU would want to feature an older version of Green Arrow. Dillahunt is 60 years old, and while that would complement Hal Jordan actor Kyle Chandler, who is 59, it would essentially limit the DCU’s time with Oliver Queen. Dillahunt’s previous character description doesn’t match Oliver Queen at all, which should have been a strong indicator that the actor was not playing the Emerald Archer in the DCU.
Even if Green Arrow is not being introduced in Lanterns, there are plenty of DC characters already set to be in the series. Not only will it feature Hal Jordan and John Stewart, but Nathan Fillion will reprise his role as Guy Gardner from Superman. Ulrich Thomsen will play the iconic Green Lantern foe Sinestro, and the recent casting addition of Paul Ben-Victor has led to speculation that he will be playing the Red Lantern Atrocitus. Fans will just have to wait for Green Arrow to make his DCU appearance at a later date.
Source: Garrett Dillahunt (Instagram) / James Gunn (Threads)

Lanterns (DCU)

Network

HBO

Directors

James Hawes

Writers

Tom King, Chris Munday

Franchise(s)

DC Universe