Danish actor and filmmaker Ulrich Thomsen is joining the DCU as the greatest Green Lantern villain. Production on Lanterns, the upcoming HBO DC series based around the Green Lantern characters Hal Jordan and John Stewart, is taking shape. Aaron Pierre is set to play John Stewart, with Kyle Chandler taking on the Silver Age Green Lantern hero Hal Jordan. With Lanterns aiming for a 2026 premiere date, filming is set to begin soon, and with that, more casting news emerges.
Deadline reports that Ulrich Thomsen has been cast to play Sinestro in Lanterns. Sinestro was created by John Broome and Gil Kane and debuted in Green Lantern (vol. 2) #7 in August 1961 as the arch-enemy of Hal Jordan / Green Lantern and was previously played by Mark Strong in the 2011 Green Lantern film. Thomsen is best known to American audiences for his roles in hit television series like Banshee, The Blacklist, and The New Pope and films like the 007 movie The World is Not Enough and the erotic thriller Killing Me Softly. He is also an accomplished Danish actor, appearing in critically acclaimed films like Festen, Arven, and Brødre.
In addition to Pierre, Chandler, and Thomsen, the Lanterns cast also includes Kelly Macdonald (Trainspotting), Garret Dillahunt (Raising Hope), and Poorna Jagannathan (The Night Of). Lanterns is co-written by Damon Lindelof, Tom King, and Chris Mundy. Mundy will serve as the showrunner for Lanterns. Lanterns are set to begin filming in February 2025 and has been described as an Earth-based detective story with Hal Jordan and John Stewart seemingly acting as a buddy cop dynamic.
Who Is Sinestro?
Thomsen’s casting as Sinestro is the latest in a string of recent announcements for the DCU. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow cast Jason Momoa as Lobo just two days before the end of 2024, and recently, it was confirmed that David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham would star as Supergirl’s parents. Thomsen is an unexpected choice for Sinestro, but a talented performer showing that James Gunn and Peter Safran are serious about aiming for the best actor to bring these DC icons to the big screen.
Thomsen being cast as Sinestro is interesting given that Lanterns has been described as an Earth-based series. One wonders how the intergalactic villain will factor into the story. Sinestro’s story in the comics involves him as a former mentor to Hal Jordan before turning on the Green Lantern Corp, and his role might be entirely in flashbacks. In the present-day set story, it is likely Jordan defeated Sinestro, and the villain is locked up, or the character is still roaming the galaxy, setting him up as a future threat. Given the character Sinestro’s status as one of DC’s most iconic villains, it feels like Thomsen will be around for more than just one show. This could be the beginning of the lead-up to The Sinestro Corp Wars, a popular storyline that saw Sinestro assemble his own group of Yellow Lanterns.
