Ryan Reynolds Could Still Play GREEN LANTERN in BATMAN VS SUPERMAN

By on Thursday, December 5th, 2013

green-lantern-batman-vs-superman

We endured a barrage of amazing BATMAN VS SUPERMAN news yesterday, as we now know Gal Gadot will play Wonder Woman, a yet-to-be cast actor will portray Flash, and a Marvel Actor is sought for a villain whether it’s Lex Luthor, Doomsday, or Metallo. Well, as it sounds like this Zack Snyder joint is slowly evolving into a smaller Justice League movie (sprinkling enough DC characters into the film as to be a distraction, but not enough to be a proper super team-up), I thought I’d remind everyone about the state of Green Lantern.

Green-Lantern-Movie-Poster-Ryan-ReynoldsYeah, yeah… I’m well aware that a few of you (maybe most of you) hated that 2011 sci-fi flick. I’ll admit, Ryan Reynolds wasn’t the greatest casting choice, the direction was a bit muddled, and the CGI suffered from George Lucas Disease (pretty, but in no way believable). Still, had that film been released in 2002, alongside such nostalgia drenched fare as Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man and Men In Black 2, I’m convinced it would have been DC’s biggest blockbuster. Green Lantern was comparable in plot and character to those two successful movies from the previous decade. It only suffered because it recycled overused superhero tropes, which had been thoroughly worn out over the past decade of heavy industry abuse. Too, it relied on the sheer spectacle of superpowers to engage its audience, and as far as spectacles go, it wasn’t even that spectacular.

But the whole point of the matter is… it wasn’t THAT bad. More so than that, through sheer brute force it accomplished one of the most difficult feats of comic book adaptations: an origin film. With that dirty work complete, and a solid actor in Ryan Reynolds at the helm, DC can accomplish anything with the character, like throwing his iteration of Green Lantern in Batman VS Superman, or at least the Justice League movie.

We few fanboys know how incredible the Corps is. Without sounding too absurd, the Lanterns could easily rival Star Wars as the best Science-Fantasy franchise, provided they have the right director, writers, and producers. I see no reason why DC should muddle their cinematic universe by rebooting the franchise. Sure, I’d love to see Idris Elba in the role. As a matter of fact, I would love to see Idris Elba in any leading superhero role (I swear he would’ve been the greatest Batman). But I value continuity over actor preference, so I’d rather Ryan Reynolds return.idris elba batman vs superman

And he could. He signed a multi-picture contract with Warner Bros., who planned to produce a Justice League movie following the success of Green Lantern. And make no mistake, after final box office numbers, merchandise, and dvd sales, Green Lantern was successful. Even though the public is indifferent towards Reynolds’s Hal Jordan, and some are down right hateful towards him, he’s a much safer choice than rebooting the entire franchise.

I personally believe Ryan Reynolds is perfectly capable of making an amazing Green Lantern sequel. How many terrible superhero movies have we endured in order to see a solid sequel? X-Men Origins: Wolverine sucked great big donkey balls, but The Wolverine (ignoring that terrible third act) was a fine sequel. I’m sure, given the right cast and crew, Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern could achieve the same.

And he’s game for it. We haven’t heard any updates from Reynolds following Ben Affleck’s casting as Batman, but he commented on the prospect of a Justice League movie in March. Although a bit hesitant, he stated:

“At this point I have very little interest in joining that, but as always, a great script and good director could turn that around.”

Well, I’m sure a giant paycheck from Warner Bros. and the threat of lawsuit after breaching your multi-film contract would be a good enough incentive. Zack Snyder’s also created an incredibly fun film in Man of Steel, and I’m sure Batman vs Superman will be even better with Academy Award Winner Ben Affleck’s guidance. The next decade of DC films are built on pillars that guarantee success.  Honestly, an director with amazing visual skills in Zack Snyder teaming up on the same project as a great story teller like Ben Affleck… I really don’t see how Ryan Reynolds WON’T return.

S#!T Talking Central

  • Bam504

    I’m guessing you smoked the yellow shit…..It wasn’t that bad?! It was pure s***!!!

    • Unleash The Fanboy

      You think so? I think, when compared to similarly lighthearted movies from earlier on in the superhero craze, it looks pretty good. Compare it to the first Spider-Man and its comparable. Compare it to Ghost Rider, Hulk, Daredevil, Fantastic Four (3/4 of which were box office successes) and I think Green Lantern is better.

      • Kondorr

        The way you put it I have to agree… GL was way better than the Marvel movies you mentioned…

        Altough today, GL gets his behind handed over by Marvel… I really like RR.. but I hope he first redeems Deadpool, before going back to green.

      • Christopher M

        we really should be comparing that film to Man of Steel.. since that’s the direction of these DC movies..does Ryan’s goofy character fit into this DCU? I think not, which is why a reboot is in order.. the studio will also likely want Goyer’s version of GL, since he’s heading up all these projects..he did wonders re-imaging Blade (the first successful Marvel movie) for the screen, I think he could easily give us a compelling take on John Stewart.. diverse casting is the biggest problem with superhero movies.. Marvel still has problems getting a Black Panther movie together, even though he’s more popular than Doctor Strange or Ant-Man..

        • TS

          yes. DCU should just use the JL roster from the animated series’ in early 2000s. Elba or Derek Luke would be a great John Stewart GL – will be better than a Ryan Reynolds Hal. Also, DC would have a chance to capitalize, to some extent, on diversity – in which Marvel cinematic universe has failed miserably.

          • Christopher M

            agreed! Marvel Studios’ biggest problem is that their diverse characters are stuck in supporting roles (same with female characters).. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had a chance to be their most diverse property pulling Agents from all over the world, but they ignored that aspect.. wish they made Black Panther and Captain Marvel films priorities.. Luke Cage is coming to television but the films are more important

          • TS

            Diversity is a weakness in both Marvel and DC filmverses. However, Marvel has characters of color (male and female) that they can use – Monica Rambeau, Black Panther, Luke Cage, and several more. Their movie universe has to tapped into their diversity advantage to beat a potentially amazing DC cinematic comeback.
            DC is lacking in black men and black women characters. for the latter there’s just Vixen who could be an interesting choice in a JL film – but can’t do solo. I’m not big on Cyborg as anything more than a side character. Only Jon Stewart GL has solo and joint potential. Being that Marvel has not utilized their advantage here – I think DC can. It has to be John Stewart Green Lantern in my opinion.

      • Sandro

        Completely off topic, but I figured I’d address it here since you continue to ignore my pleas to do something about Christopher M.’s contributions. If you’re the editor, isn’t it your responsibity to review his pieces? His pieces are littered with grammatical mistakes and yet he still submits them.

      • Sandro

        Completely off topic, but I figured I’d address it here since you continue to ignore my pleas to do something about Christopher M.’s contributions. If you’re the editor, isn’t it your responsibity to review his pieces? His pieces are littered with grammatical mistakes and yet he still submits them.

  • Christopher M

    Ben Affleck is a good story teller but won’t be telling the story of Batman Vs Superman.. Goyer and Snyder will be handling the script.. I’m sure Affleck will have creative freedom over Batman unlikely he will with other characters.. unless he directs JL (rumored at one point but will still be written by Goyer) or future Batman films ( a better fit for him in my opinion).. there’s been a campaign to get Idris Elba cast as either the new Green Lantern (Stewart/Jordan) or Cyborg, I’d take either…Reynolds has proven with a steady stream of box office bombs he can’t handle spectacle pictures.. R.I.P.D counts as his fourth horrible comic book film (others being Blade 3, X-Men Origins, Green Lantern)..defend his performances all you want they’re all still terrible movies…his involvement with Deadpool (even at a reduced budget) hasn’t gotten that film green-lit any faster.. WB needs a likeable actor to offset the poor reactions to a boring Henry Cavill and an uneven Ben Affleck (bringing his Daredevil baggage along for the ride)..Gal Gadot has potential since she did her own stunts in FF7, but is still a relatively unknown actress.. Elba recently tweeted a cool photoshop image of him as Lantern and even DJed in a Superman costume.. it’s possible Marvel is holding him back from a lead superhero role which might see him switch to the DCU.. I’ve been following Ryan since his days on Two Guys A Girl And A Pizza Place (also Nathan Fillion’s big break on TV).. by no means is he on the level of an action star.. if he stuck to his comedy roots and better writers he’d have a bigger film career.. Batman Vs Superman has enough heroes involved at this point (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Flash).. let WB/DC Entertainment focus on making a good Man of Steel sequel, trying to reboot Nolan’s awesome Batman with Batfleck, a solo Wonder Woman film..then we can talk about Green Lantern coming back..

  • Miles Jones

    Zack Snyder’s also created an incredibly fun film in Man of Steel

    Ummm……not really a “fun” film at all. Especially when you look at the aesthetics of it, verk dark contrasted non saturated colors. Only fun that was in it was when he was learning how to fly, that was fun and I wish they had more of that positive feeling in the film

  • hom

    His career is in shambles. Why would he live little interest when its an opportunity. Or maybe he’s right and this movie bombs. You never know. Its Zach Snyder, Hit or miss

  • Kel

    “And make no mistake, after final box office numbers, merchandise, and dvd sales, Green Lantern was successful.”

    Sorry, but you are wrong, not even the toys saved it: “Since the Ryan Reynolds’ film, retailers were stuck with film merchandise that just wasn’t selling. This lead to those retailers being very reluctant, if not downright refusing, to any carry merchandise from the Animated Series. Therefore, a lack of sales on that front lead to a lack revenue for an admittedly expensive CG Series.”
    http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/03/04/tales-from-eccc-bruce-timm-and-green-lantern-animated-series/

    And last but not least, Green Lantern bombed pretty badly:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_box_office_bombs
    http://www.filmsite.org/greatestflops.html

    The movie was bad, it failed, so WB will probably recast the role and start fresh, which makes perfect sense.

  • kaiboy

    I really can’t imagine Ryan Reynolds not coming back. His Green Lantern fits the “universe” that this Batman Superman movie appears to be going. The under performance of the “Green Lantern” movie wasn’t his fault. His casting was fine. The Green Lantern movie just didn’t have a great climax or enough big highspots. The extended version of the movie proves absolutely that the movie needed to be fleshed out much further, the final official cut left too much out of the story. This looks to me like this is turning into a surprise “Justice League” movie, better sooner and unexpected than later. Superman becomes a too powerful threat according to Batman…Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Flash and others are drawn into the this growing conflict which ends with them combining to fight. Wouldn’t you love to see Ryan Reynolds come back as “Parralax” to fight the Justice League and John Stewart (Idris Elba or Michael Ealy) coming in to help out with the fight….

  • my2sense

    I just watched the extended cut of Green Lantern on blu ray (it was like 4 bucks on black friday… why not?)
    First and foremost, the first time I watched the original cut it was obviously nothing to get too excited about by anyone’s standards. This film has many little things that make you think “um… why did they do that?” Like the ridiculous hot wheels race-track helicopter save :/
    But with that said, I don’t think this movie was anywhere near as bad as it has been made out to be. I think Reynolds character and humor was fresh and could add variety to the likes of Affleck and Cavill if they all where to interact with one another.

    The CGI was a little different for sure, but as far as Green Lantern’s suit goes I like the look! This is why, if these characters where all to meet I think it would be nice if everyone’s costume didn’t look the same, ex. spandex, rubber, or armor.

    Lastly, the story ended really well for my taste, and gave plenty to build on… or honestly, make better. The after credits scene of Sinestro was legit, and given that the origin elements are now out of the way I think it would be a shame to go reboot and rehash basically the same origin story.
    Keep Ryan Reynolds, incorporate him into the DC universe, and most importantly, make sure the sequel is kick ass with the showdown with Sinestro!!!

    Movie grade: C +

  • BP

    I know I’m 2 months late to the show, so I guess this is an unheard opinion aimed for the author. GL is my favorite superhero of all time, and I’m with you in the belief that the Corps can rival Star Wars as absurd as that sounds. I thought Ryan Reynolds fit the Hal Jordan mold fairly well – he has that brash, superficial arrogance and humor to hide his inner fears and demons. He wasn’t the problem with that movie.
    Another top reason I think we need Ryan/Hal back is because if WB and DC is trying to create a universe to rival Marvel, they’re going to need to deliver products for the foreseeable future.
    In terms of the Justice League movie, skipping over Hal because of the conception about the GL movie and moving forward with John Stewart is a problem.
    1) The JL movie will not provide us with the great back-and-forth Batman and Hal should be having when they first meet. They also seem to approach everything opposingly which can be great for the JL movie.
    2) Think of the sequels and opportunities Hal presents to WB/DC over John (just at the beginning!). I would like to see a Hal vs. Sinestro movie, move onto him against Larfleeze or Atrocitus, and then by then we can move onto John, Kyle, or Guy. I just think having John against those enemies will upset a lot of fanboys and not create an overall great movie.
    Plus Snyder clearly has a better direction and is a visual director. His costume for Superman plus the way he approached the fighting is levels above what Ryan Reynolds did in the GL movie.
    I think he would be stupid not to want to keep Hal going with the new direction (visually, that is) Snyder is taking DC.

  • Nik Gomez

    I have to agree! The CGI suit wasn’t that good but the movie wasn’t half bad. I think he’s a good Hal Jordan so if he signs on with Snyder and they change up the costume to not be CGI, I’m happy

  • Prathmesh Tiwari

    Next Green Lantern shouldn’t be black.

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