The DC Multiverse owes a lot to Greg Berlanti, given that the producer extraordinaire was responsible for the immensely successful DC TV-verse, which aired on CW. This included Arrow, which kicked off the franchise on the small screen, followed by shows like Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and so on.

Arrow || Credit: The CW

Berlanti revealed to The Hollywood Reporter how he actually got into DC, and how his being gay had something to do with it. Berlanti also talked about the shows he watched as a child and his geeky interests that might have labeled him as weird.

Greg Berlanti liked to play Dungeons & Dragons

Greg Berlanti || Credit: CC-Genevieve liscensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Speaking with THR, Greg Berlanti talked about his interests when he was a closeted gay child, watching shows with his parents, while also having his niche geeky interests. This, according to the producer, confused people, making it difficult to pigeonhole him in social niches.

Like a lot of folks, I grew up enjoying all sorts of genres. I was a gay kid who was closeted, who was reading comic books and watching Dallas with his mom. And so it was harder to classify me. People didn’t know if I was gay or just weird. I’d watch The Rockford Files with my dad, and we’d all watch a lot of the Norman Lear comedies together, and then I’d play Dungeons & Dragons during the day and do other geeky things. So I think my career sort of speaks to a lot of those different kinds of things that I enjoyed growing up.

Berlanti revealed that he watched some of the hits of his time, like Dallas and The Rockford Files with his parents, while also looking at his interest in DnD and other such geeky ideas. However, for all the success that the DC shows on CW, the Green Lantern film still remains a sore thumb for the producer, which he had a hand in producing.

Greg Berlanti was thankful for the Green Lantern film

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively in Green Lantern || Credit: Warner Bros

Green Lantern (2011) was one of the worst films to have come out of DC, largely turning the mainstream audience off of the character. The film also managed to take out Green Lantern: The Animated Series, but Greg Berlanti was grateful for what the film did for him.

While he was not happy with how the film turned out, the producer was thrilled that it introduced him to more people in DC, which eventually led to Arrow and the rest of the DC block at CW. He said:

The movie did introduce me more to the folks at DC, which led to Arrow. So while it was heartbreaking on the film side, it ultimately led to wonderful things on the television side.

Greg Berlanti was involved with a Green Lantern show before it was scrapped after James Gunn took over to create his DCU. The show that Berlanti was developing was eventually scrapped, with the focus shifting to Jon Stewart and Hal Jordan’s earthbound adventures.
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