Why Was Green Lantern Canceled After Just One Season?

Despite positive reception and producer Bruce Timm on board, "Green Lantern: The Animated Series" only lasted one season — from 2012 to 2013 — on Cartoon Network. While pitting Hal Jordan (Josh Keaton) and the Green Lantern Corps against a vengeful AI, Aya (Grey DeLisle), seems fitting for today's industry, the short-lived show never really got its feet off the ground, and now we know why.

Unfortunately, it seems like Ryan Reynolds' 2011 "Green Lantern" box-office bomb caused even more harm than initially thought, preventing "Green Lantern: The Animated Series" from continuing past one season. "From what I've heard, the performance of the [Green Lantern] movie made it so there was a lot of movie toys still in stores. And so the stores didn't necessarily differentiate between one being movie toys and others being animated series toys," Keaton recalled in an interview with IGN. "They just said, 'Green Lantern? We already have those.' And so because of that, a toyline wasn't even made. And because a toyline wasn't made, we really didn't have the funding to go on in that sense, because a lot of funding is tied to that."

Keaton reassured fans that the cancellation wasn't the result of a lack of support or low ratings, stating the merchandise situation was the nail in the coffin. Everyone who worked on "Green Lantern: The Animated Series" wishes Cartoon Network had renewed them, as they wrote what became the series finale with more seasons in mind. The live-action movie was simply too disastrous to overcome.

Despite only running for one season, Josh Keaton knows they were building something special with "Green Lantern: The Animated Series." Although the production couldn't continue, Keaton believes he and the rest of the crew left with their heads held high. "We really, for 26 episodes, have done our best to bring something awesome to fans and expand upon the GL mythos, and hopefully, we've done that," the actor told IGN at the time. "This is the first GL animated series there's been. I've been so happy to be a part of it. I wish it could go on longer, and it's made me a fan!"

While Cartoon Network ultimately did "Green Lantern: The Animated Series" a disservice with the cancellation, the decision reflects the character's longstanding issue with on-screen adaptations. Given Green Lantern's popularity within DC Comics, it's surprising how little the characters have appeared in mainstream projects. While John Stewart's Green Lantern was a highlight of Bruce Timm's DC Animated Universe, appearing in shows like "Justice League Unlimited," it wasn't until "Green Lantern: The Animated Series" in 2011 that Hal Jordan, or any Green Lantern, got their first animated solo adventure, and even that didn't last long.

Outside of appearing in an ensemble across many DC Animation TV shows and movies, Green Lantern remained MIA in live-action for years after the Ryan Reynolds-led film. James Gunn changed that by casting Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner in 2025's "Superman," and the upcoming HBO show "Lanterns," starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as Hal Jordan and John Stewart respectively, will continue what hopefully becomes a full-fledged return to the screen for this beloved DC property.