Why Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern Could’ve Been Good (& Why His Movie Failed)

Back in 2011, Warner Bros. released a movie called Green Lantern in the hopes of starting a widespread DC Comics film franchise in the mold of Marvel’s then-blossoming cinematic universe, which hadn’t even assembled the Avengers yet. Of course, the movie ended up being so critically panned that most moviegoers didn’t bother buying a ticket and the franchise had to begin with Man of Steel instead.

Ryan Reynolds played the lead role of Hal Jordan, and credit where credit’s due, the movie’s failure cannot be attributed to him. He could’ve made a great Green Lantern; he was just let down by the movie he was in.

10 Reynolds Has More Than Enough Charm To Play Hal Jordan

The role of Hal Jordan requires some serious charm. Recent DCEU fan castings have included such beloved stars as Jon Hamm, Nathan Fillion (who’s always been a favorite for the role), and Armie Hammer.

As one of the most charismatic actors working in Hollywood today, Ryan Reynolds has more than enough charm to play the role successfully.

9 Hal Jordan’s Characterization In The Movie Was Generic

Ryan Reynolds has attributed the failure of Green Lantern to the powers that be controlling the money being unable to make up their minds about what the movie was going to be. As a result, Hal Jordan’s characterization is completely generic.

Contrasted with the well-rounded superheroes seen in movies like Iron Man, The Dark Knight, and Guardians of the Galaxy, the Green Lantern movie’s Hal Jordan is just another one-note action hero.

8 Reynolds Has Since Proven He Can Carry A Superhero Franchise

Five years after the commercial failure of Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds revolutionized blockbuster cinema with Deadpool, the first R-rated comic book movie to make a huge splash at the height of the MCU’s reign.

With that movie and its 2018 sequel, Reynolds has more than proven his ability to carry a superhero franchise. If the planned Green Lantern trilogy was given a Nolan, Reynolds could’ve easily been its Bale.

7 The Movie Couldn’t Decide If It Wanted To Be Serious

The tone of Green Lantern is all over the place. Unlike Reynolds’ next comic book-based endeavor, Deadpool, which had a strong command of its sensibility, Green Lantern couldn’t decide if it wanted to take itself seriously or not.

The result tries to have its cake and eat it, too, but there’s too much self-deprecating humor for the dramatic moments to land and the dramatic moments hold it back from succeeding as a comedy.

6 Reynolds Appreciated The Comics

When he was first offered the role of Hal Jordan, Ryan Reynolds has admitted that, despite being aware of the character’s importance in the DC universe, he didn’t really know anything about him.

But after taking the part and looking into the history of Green Lantern comics, Reynolds came to really appreciate the character. His fandom of Green Lantern might not have matched his fandom of Deadpool, but the appreciation was there nonetheless.

5 The Movie’s Script Was Thinly Developed

Robert Smigel wrote a Green Lantern script as a comedic vehicle for Jack Black, but the project was scrapped when both hardcore comics fans and studio executives balked at the idea.

That script was far from perfect, and totally unfaithful to the source material, but it had a singular authorial voice and a command of its own story that the limp, cliché-ridden, thinly developed script for the 2011 movie completely misses in favor of conventional blockbuster fodder.

4 Reynolds Could’ve Had A Fun Dynamic With The Rest Of The Justice League

There are conflicting reports about what Warner Bros. had planned for the future if Green Lantern was a success, but it was believed to be the beginning of a DC cinematic universe. Ryan Reynolds’ Hal Jordan would’ve eventually joined the rest of the Justice League.

Reynolds has a way of developing great repartees with his co-stars, like Josh Brolin in Deadpool 2 and Samuel L. Jackson in The Hitman’s Bodyguard. To see him rubbing shoulders with the likes of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman would’ve been a delight.

3 The CG Costume Was Hideous

Ryan Reynolds included a meta reference to Han Jordan’s CG Green Lantern costume in Deadpool, when he tells the people mutating him, “Please don’t make the super-suit green, or animated!”

The use of a computer-generated superhero suit in Green Lantern might have influenced the design of the MCU, but like many forerunners to technical innovations, it’s aged pretty badly.

2 Reynolds Had Tangible Chemistry With His Love Interest

The romantic subplots of comic book movies are usually the most undercooked elements, but Ryan Reynolds shared tangible chemistry with his Green Lantern co-star Blake Lively that could’ve made Hal and Carol’s relationship really engaging in the unproduced sequels.

Reynolds and Lively’s chemistry was so palpable, in fact, that they started dating during filming, eventually got married, and currently have three kids together.

1 The Movie Suffered From All The Usual Hollywood Blockbuster Problems

While directors like Christopher Nolan are using their clout to keep blockbusters fresh, there are plenty of big-budget movies that get churned out of the Hollywood studio system that some executives pieced together from market-friendly tropes, interfering with the filmmakers’ process every step of the way.

With Casino Royale, Martin Campbell proved that he can make an awesome action movie when he’s given a big budget and creative freedom. Unfortunately, on Green Lantern, he wasn’t given that freedom. The movie stinks of studio meddling.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3465 Articles Published)

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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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