Green Lantern: Tom Cruise Transforms Into Hal Jordan In DCU Concept Art

It seems as though moviegoers can't get enough of Tom Cruise flying, whether he's a "Top Gun" graduate or a Ferris Aircraft test pilot.

The legendary Hollywood action star and stunt performer (who most recently launched himself off of a cliff while riding a motorcycle for "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One") has flirted with bringing his unique talents to a superhero franchise ever since he was in the running to play Tony Stark. That was long before Robert Downey Jr. took on the role.

On Instagram, artist Pablo Ruiz (@pabloruizzx) has sparked further fan interest in seeing the actor take on one of his most requested superhero roles — Hal Jordan, aka Green Lantern. The fan-favorite DC Comics character (infamously played by future "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds in 2011) is depicted by Ruiz as floating stoically above Earth, with Cruise's recognizable visage only slightly concealed by the traditional domino mask worn by those in the Green Lantern Corps. 

In a caption written in March of 2020, Ruiz shared his affection for both Hal Jordan and Tom Cruise, as well as his hope that the former would appear in Zack Snyder's then-upcoming director's cut of "Justice League." While that never came to pass, it's worth mentioning that James Gunn has yet to cast his own Hal Jordan — and there's a solid argument for Cruise being considered.

It isn't hard to see why fans think Tom Cruise would be the perfect Hal Jordan. The "Top Gun: Maverick" star is famously capable of flying aircraft, having earned his pilot's license back in 1994. Though he wasn't allowed to fly the military grade F-18s seen in the 2022 film, he does pilot his own P-51 Mustang during the final battle. In 2018's "Mission: Impossible — Fallout," the actor even flew a helicopter through a tight passage for a tense action sequence.

Perhaps fans are hoping that, should Cruise play the character in James Gunn's new DC Films Universe, he could bring his singular aviation skills to practically portray the death-defying talents "Highball" Hal has shown in a cockpit in past comic book stories. As exciting as that sounds, it might be a bit too noisy — and probably too expensive — to do in the upcoming Max series "Lanterns," which Gunn originally described as a crime thriller in the same vein as "True Detective." 

At the very least, we have this art to imagine the cosmic Tom Cruise "Green Lantern" film that might've been.