Green Lantern star Ryan Reynolds details what happened behind the scenes of the DC film and why it tanked.

Per Variety, the subject of Reynolds' Green Lantern came up in a discussion between the star and fellow Deadpool 2 actor Rob Delaney during the Just for Laughs comedy festival in London. Reynolds explained, "There was just too many people spending too much money and when there was a problem rather than say, 'Okay, let's stop spending on special effects and let's think about character. How do we replace this big spectacle thing -- that isn't working at all -- with something that's character based?' and that just never -- the thinking was never there to do that."

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Reynolds continued, "And to their credit, it's a very old school way of looking at things. It's just 'Let's just keep spending our way through this.' And that was -- it didn't work. At the same time, there are 185 people that worked on that movie, they all had an amazing time, we loved shooting it. Truly, shooting the movie was a lot of fun. But, you know, sitting in that premiere, watching that, oh my God. It's tough."

Another Hollywood Actor Dodged Starring in Green Lantern

Released in 2011 and based on the DC Comics character of the same name, Green Lantern starred Reynolds as Hal Jordan, a hotshot test pilot who is inducted into the interstellar Green Lantern Corps police force thanks to his indomitable will. Avatar: The Way of Water star Sam Worthington shared in Dec. 2022 about how his criticisms of the film's logic ended up costing him the role of Hal Jordan ahead of Reynolds' casting. "It didn’t make much sense to me -- the suit comes out of his skin," Worthington recalled. "And I was like, 'He’s got this powerful ring that can create anything. Well, what can beat the ring?' The answer was, 'Nothing.' I was like, 'Well, something needs to beat it, or it won’t be very interesting."

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After years of jokes made at Green Lantern's expense by both Reynolds and the Deadpool franchise, in March 2021, Reynolds said of the DC film, "While it's not perfect, it ain't a tragedy." The actor also praised the "hundreds of incredible crew and cast members" who worked on Green Lantern, noting that "There's a lot of heavy hitters in the movie. Not always used in the right way... but still... heavy hitters." Reynolds specifically reflected on Angela Bassett in the role of Doctor Amanda Waller, who he described as "Stunning. Period."

DC Is Taking a Crack at Green Lantern Once Again

Although Reynolds' time as a Green Lantern has seemingly come to an end, DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran have confirmed plans for Hal Jordan to join the cinematic DC Universe alongside fellow Green Lantern John Stewart. Jordan and Stewart will star in Lanterns, a television series slated to introduce a larger mystery for the overarching DCU. Beginning with a first chapter entitled "Gods & Monsters," the roadmap for the DCU covers eight-to-ten years of properties on both the small and silver screen.

Reynolds next superhero outing will be his return as Marvel's Merc with a Mouth in Deadpool 3 , releasing in theaters on Nov. 8, 2024. For fans wanting to revisit Reynolds' time wearing the green, CGI spandex, Green Lantern is now streaming on HBO Max.

Source: Variety