After this morning’s buzz that Justin Timberlake was suiting up for Green Lantern tryouts, Variety is reporting this evening that Ryan Reynolds has been cast as Hal Jordan in the upcoming movie.
Warners and Campbell chose Reynolds, who vied for the superhero role along with “The Hangover†star Bradley Cooper and Jared Leto. The momentum built for Reynolds in the last week, as he was the only actor whose option was extended.
Those that were afraid that Timberlake would be flying around can rest easy, while the rest of you have the daunting task of voicing your opinions below.
38 Comments
Could be alot worse (Justin Timberlake) but it also could be alot better (Nathan Fillion).
so he will be deadpool and green lantern????
Hollywood gets it wrong again! Nathan Fillion or the kid from Star Trek! Reynolds was only good in one film “Adventureland.” The rest of the time he has sucked!
I like Reynolds… He’s pretty charming in “Definitely, Maybe” and Van Wilder is one of those movies that really cemented him as charismatic for me. Either way, he’s not going to be the make or break for this film. It’s going to be all about how the effects work. :)
I’m thrilled that he was cast! He’s always been a fave actor of mine.
Out of the three finalists, I’m glad it was Reynolds and not a singer who was in the train wreck that was “The Love Guru” or an actor who, to my mind, does not have the level of fame Reynolds enjoys.
He would have been a better Wally West than Hal Jordan
Greenpool or dead lantern?
i was actually hoping for justin timberlake. i like him as an actor. he was pretty solid in southland tales and love guru (even if the later is a bad movie)
reynolds is better as deadpool though. i know he’ll probably do both, but i like my actors to be identified to only ONE super-hero.
HAH!!! VAN JORDAN!!!!! (Sorry, since I “van-deadpool”ed, I hadda even out my karma.) Now, on a more serious note, of the “big names” eligible I think he is 1) the most passable choice and 2) the most likely one. Nathan Fillion, while amazing (I was terrified of the evil dude he played on B:tVS, and know of his reputation for his other works) is too “niche” for a big movie like this is theoretically going to be. Like, the studio might feel “well, we might as well cast some other unknown guy, cuz he’ll be cheaper than this barely-known Fillion guy” , and pass him over. The “big names” come with big name baggage, and even though we’re okay with Robert Downey Jr. (already known for trouble with the bottle) as Tony Stark, and Ed Norton (kinda geeky looking) as Dr. Banner, Wearer of the Purple Jeans, J-Timba is not known for “flying around with a highly sophisticated computer/ring, investigating interstellar crime”, or even as a pilot — as Civilian Hal is. Jus-T plays a mean round of golf (as seen on NBC recently), and dances. That’s ’bout it. :D I was pulling for them to pull a casting decision like they did with “Superman Returns”, and try to make a somebody outta a hardly-anybody, but maybe that very same movie destroyed any chances of “starmaking” with these franchises. Besides the above, I agree with Matthew — just too lazy to quote it & address it directly. :) Effects = key.
I think he will be good. If you ever watched Van Wilder, he really was good in that role. Better than JT.
I think he’s an excellent choice. Glad we dodged that Timberlake bullet! Whew!
Great … now we’re going to have a comedy on our hands. Anyone notice how Ryan can’t act unless it’s a comedic role? Hannabal King, Deadpool …
This movie’s not going to be what brings DC into the “comic franchise” light.
Ehhh… could be worse.
Its okay…. not great, but okay….
I guess the only good things I can really say are thank god it’s not Justin Timberlake, and at least this keeps Nathan Fillion free for Captain America.
Reynolds, in my opinion, has the ability to elevate the material he is given. He’s been the only watchable part of some bad movies (see Van Wilder, Just Friends). Definitely Maybe, showed he’s got some drama chops as well. I haven’t seen him as Deadpool or in Blade: Trinity so I don’t know how he fares in action films, but I think he’s a pretty good choice.
They’re probably going for an “Iron Man” like comic bppk movie, fun, funny and full of action (the 3 Fs). If they were going for a serious/dark type comic book movie, like let’s say “Dark Knight”, they would have needed Nathan Fillion or Jensen Ackles.
Ryan Reynolds would be perfect for a popcorn type summer blockbuster, but would be useless in a more serious character piece like the Batman reboots.
Great … now we’re going to have a comedy on our hands. Anyone notice how Ryan can’t act unless it’s a comedic role? Hannabal King, Deadpool …
Not true. Just because he’s mostly in comedies, doesn’t mean he can’t do drama. Since he broke in as Van Wilder, people type him as the funny guy.
If they were going for a serious/dark type comic book movie, like let’s say “Dark Knightâ€, they would have needed Nathan Fillion or Jensen Ackles.
Um… I suspect that a “Dark Knight” inspired Green Lantern movie would be a huge mess. Since when has Hal Jordan been a dark avenger of the night type? The guy wears a LANTERN on his hand, fer Pete’s sake… The Hal that I remember was a womanizer, a guy who was always surrounded by other Lanterns, and lately, under Geoff Johns, he’s been a two-fisted manny-manny-man who hands out in bars and kisses Star Sapphires and the like.
I think that Dick Tracy and The Flash TV series proved that not EVERY hero needs to be handled like Batman, and I like the fact that they’re not tryin to replicate one franchise’s success by turning a character into something he’s not.
I probably saw it as darker then most because I started reading GL with the current redcon that included Black Hand, add Parallax hagging over is head, the lost lanterns, the Sinestro Corps war and so on and it feels dark-ish.
Still, what I meant by “dark” I meant with some depth. Nathan Fillion and Jensen Ackles can do both, Ryan I would have a hard time taking serious.
Nobody wants GL to turn into another “The Spirit”.
Well, thank god it’s not Timberlake. Reynolds was a good choice, so long as they don’t try to force his comedy into the Hal Jordan character. Hal’s sarcastic and quick-witted, not smarmy and cynical.
I dont think it matters who is GL I dont think this concept works on the screen
I feel like Cooper would have played Hal better, Ryan would have played Guy Gardner awesome. At least this almost crushes the possibilities of a Dead Pool Movie. No serious comic book fan wanted to see that shit…
*ahem* NOOOOOO!!!!!
His Hannibal King wasn’t Hannibal King, how can I trust his Hal will be Hal? Guy Gardner, sure. Not Hal.
His Hannibal King wasn’t Hannibal King, how can I trust his Hal will be Hal?
I blame the writing and producing more than Reynolds for that…
Back when I actually tried blogging, I made a post about who I would want cast in a JL movie. I had Reynolds as Wally West. Just from his performance in Van Wilder and other comedies, I feel his talents would be better suited for our speedy friend. I can’t wait to see how he’ll do though. Remember, not everyone was optimistic about Heath Ledger playing the Joker, but look how well that turned out.
In addition to my last comment, I’d like to point out that not everything that Reynolds does well is comedy. I know the Deadpool stuff wasn’t amazing and Blade: Trinity wasn’t a masterpiece either, but remember the new Amityville Horror? Ryan was a friggin creeper! Of course, I think most of his scariness can be attributed to that freaky beard he had.
I like Reynolds–he’s VERY pleasant on the eyes. But his voice is way too high for Hal Jordan–he’s got a great voice for comic, sarcastic, chatty characters–none of which make me think of HJ/GL. (Plus I don’t think he’s got the right jawline, but that may be the Superfriends talking.)
I agree that he would have been a great Wally West — or even Ollie Queen (though I don’t want Justin Hartley to have any competition — he’s doing so well on that character already).
I guess Reynolds could be a good Kyle Rayner, now that I think about it…. Are we sure they’re doing Hal for the film?
Here’s the thing.
Reynolds is a VERY good comic actor. Honestly, I’ve never understood why he didn’t take off in the same manner as Bill Murray or Chevy Chase at their peak. I’ve loved him (as an actor…I don’t swing that way…regardless of my predilection for women’s clothes) ever since Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (anyone remember that?).
Regardless, I don’t know if he could pull off a non-comedic role (I’d hesitate to call it dramatic). I agree with the people who say that GL isn’t a “dark” character. He’s not. Doesn’t make him shallow. Just makes him not grim. It also, however, doesn’t make him madcap or funny. I was happy to hear he was doing a Deadpool movie, because it fits him. This? Don’t know.
Now, no one even vaguely suspected Tom Hanks could do drama until Big, but even before that, he had Nothing in Common and (God help me) Mazes and Monsters. I would never have picked Bill Murray for Royal Tenenbaums, but he was amazing in it. And in Lost in Translation.
Having said that, nothing exists in a vacuum, and we can only judge the future based on the past. In the past, Reynolds hasn’t done dramatic moments well. Also, in the past, they picked Jack Black.
That would have been an unmitigated disaster.
Does anyone know if this is the same script?
I’m with you, liked his work since 2 guys a Girl and a Pizza place, Van Wilder made me a fan, if you think he can’t handle drama and dark then you haven’t seen him in The amityville horror remake, he was very good.
Yeah I wish he would have been flash, and his comedy will make him a great deadpool, (heck he’d be a lot better spiderman than toby mcgwire…then agains James franco would have been the better choice…but anyway)
He’s a pretty boy and Hal should be a pretty boy, he’s swave in the way hal should be swave, kinda like a fellow who plays Iron Man and started out with comedies.
All in all we’ll have to wait for the movie, but I couldn’t be happier.
See Reynolds as Billy on teen soap train wreck, ‘Fifteen’. This show makes DeGrassi Jr. High, look like Hill Street Blues. Reynolds enters the episode around the 4:40 mark and returns again around 12:40, 16:45, 18:10, 22:40:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBgWdlyt4VA
This episode stands out because the pinball machine in the hangout actually TURNED ON and functional while the kid plays it. This was not the case much of the time on this show, I swear.
The real deal: in casting Reynolds I think these producers just sold some tickets to non-male viewers!!!
Well since Fox Studios is probably going to MUCK up the Deadpool movie I would have to say that Reynolds is probably a good bet for the Green Lantern.
Although I am not a fan of Family Guy I think Seth McFarlene would probably make a decent writer for the Deadpool movie, because of the randomness…but thats just me.
i just want to says that he was great in The Nines, and it was a pretty dramatic role.
Wow… R.R. was in 2guys1girlpizzaplace? Nuts. I never watched it, but at least SOMETHING besides the name of that show has made a mark on pop culture. :) Back to my whole “Hal is a cop” thing. I could buy R.R. as a cop. He’s not a “Stallone” cop or an “Eastwood” cop, but he’s WAY better than a “David Caruso” cop or a “Eddie Murphy” cop. Like, don’t get me wrong — I like those latter two, but Hal is only part-detective. He’s a General Purpose Cop, and I think Ryan can, with a little weight, scruff and lack of sleep, portray that well enough. And, like, cops can have a sense of humor, usually a bitter one, ESPECIALLY in movies. Real cops? Don’t like jokes so much I’ve learned from experience… I think I have completely exhausted my brain on this subject. :D G’nite everybody~!
Yep. Definitely fits the pretty boy, average guy thing that defines Hal. Reminds me of the one GL story that wasn’t a GL story…Guy was sitting there at Warriors after hours and he breaks the fourth wall to talk about how the GLs are basically average guys at the right place and right time. Yes they have the capacity to overcome great fear, but remember the story is that Hal was chosen over Guy because Hal was closer.
I think Ryan fits that concept: average guy who’s given the most powerful weapon in the universe.
The thing about Robert Downey Jr. is that he was only in “the business” for a few years before he did Less Than Zero…which NO ONE could confuse with a comic role. His prostituting himself for his drug habit was NOT played for laughs, like male prostitution usually is.
Who can forget the drama and poignancy of Deuce Bigalo?
In any case, RD Jr cut his dramatic teeth long before he donned the iron suit.
From a marketing/business perspective, Ryan Reynolds is a hot commodity, has Tiger Beat appeal, and is a known quantity in action/comic book roles. He as the “star” will sell a certain amount of tickets. Though fanboys generally liked Watchmen, the suits have attributed its “failure” to lack of a name brand “star” (among other things such as R-rating, length, and density of plot…me? I loved it). The Dark Knight notwithstanding, you better believe Green Lantern will be lighter fare. Because Reynolds CAN act, they MAY include grittier/heavier sequences, but overall, the tone of the film will match what the suits percieve to be Ryan Reynold’s core strengths.
From an artistic perspective, and based on his stated devotion to the character, I thought Reynolds would have held out for the Flash (especially as Wally West). I’m with others who dislike one actor playing multiple heroes, but that’s merely a geek concern. And the Green Lantern being married to the Black Widow is even weirder. But I digress.
In the end, since this casting is not THAT big of a stretch/stunt (like Jack Black or Justin Timberlake), it comes down to writing and production value. Hopefully their cues will come from “New Frontier” and Chuck Yeager clips. But you just know they have already planned the kind of ham handed, soundtrack invoking expository flight sequences akin to “Top Gun”. Ryan Reynolds can do that very well, and even if the there are ambitions to have him do more than that. There’s too much easy money to be made for the studio to pass up on Reynolds doing an updated version of Tom Cruise’s Maverick. That’s what will sell merchandise.
And don’t be too shocked when they cast Joe Jonas as Kyle and __fill in the blank rapper of the moment_ as John Stewart.
I’ve never been a follower of the GL series, so I may have missed quite a bit of his characterization, but I’ve never thought of Hal as being a pretty boy or even suave. I’ve always thought of him as being more macho-angry than suave. And he had the strongest lantern-jaw this side of Metropolis, in addition to a clift chin that could read ATM cards. Hardly what I’d call a pretty boy. I always thought of him as one of the most rugged, masculine, always-looks-over-30 characters in the comics.
Is he really a rico-sauvé pretty boy in his series? Cause almost everything I know about him comes from teh 1980s JLA…..
ryan is the best guy for the job he makes every film better so what he gets 2 heros thats just how f-ing great he is
and john you need to watch any movie with him he nails it every time cant wait to see it