Will David Ramsey Finally Suit up as the Arrowverse Green Lantern?

From the moment John Diggle pulled a glowing green box from the crashed meteor in Arrow‘s series finale, we knew that the end of the Arrowverse’s namesake show wouldn’t be the end of David Ramsey in that universe. But we had no idea just how important to its future he would be.

According to Deadline, Ramsey is set to direct five episodes of Arrowverse shows, including episodes in the first season of Superman & Lois and the final season of Supergirl.

But perhaps more intriguingly, he’s also slated to appear as John Diggle in five episodes across the entire spectrum of shows – on The Flash, Superman & Lois, Supergirl, and Batwoman. And he’s also got a mystery role lined up in Legends of Tomorrow season 6. It’s that appearance more than anything else that has fans buzzing that we’ll finally see John join the Green Lantern Corps.

It’s long been an article of faith among Arrow fans that Diggle would eventually become a Green Lantern: specifically John Stewart. Stewart was the second character to wear a ring in DC continuity, and like Diggle for the Arrowverse, Stewart was DC’s first Black superhero. Stewart is a marine and an architect who served as Hal Jordan’s backup, covering for the first GL when Hal was away or for an extended period of time after Hal quit the Corps. Which calls to mind Diggle’s extended fill-ins for Oliver as the Green Arrow.

Stewart is probably most popular today because of his time on the Justice League cartoon – he was the primary focus of the Green Lantern stories on that show, and frequently played the straight man to Hawkgirl (his romantic partner and now an extremely popular ‘ship in the DC comics) or to the Flash’s goofing off, again reminiscent of Diggle’s numerous running gags when exposed to the powered parts of the television superhero universe he inhabits.

It’s not just comics parallels that fueled fan speculation, though. The show’s creators themselves fed the fans plenty over the years, from naming Diggle’s grandfather “Stewart” to having John Wesley Shipp’s Earth-90 Flash look at Diggle and ask “John? Where’s your ring?” This culminated with the conclusion of Arrow, when Diggle, packing up to leave Star City for Metropolis (and then presumably, now confirmed guest appearances on Superman & Lois), was knocked into his van by a falling meteor that contained a glowing, green box.

And now we find out that he’s going to be on Legends of Tomorrow. Season 5 of Legends ended with Sara Lance, another Arrow alum, being abducted by aliens, setting up season 6 to be a universe-hopping romp for the popular superhero workplace comedy. With all the hints that had been dropped, all the parallels between the two characters, and now Diggle presumably joining the crew of the Waverider in space, it feels like these years of speculation are about to pay off.