Update: The Hollywood Reporter says that Reynolds has taken the role, and the film is slated for a June 17, 2011 release.
The role of Green Lantern in a live-action film has essentially been Bradley Cooper's to lose. I mean, there have been reports coming out for a while now that say both Warner Brothers and DC are extremely high on Cooper for the green and black suit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, however, director Martin Campbell (along with producers Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti) actually have two other actors in mind for the role of the ace Air Force pilot Hal Jordan: Ryan Reynolds and...wait for it...Justin Timberlake.
All three have come in and done two screen tests each for the role, however here's where things get dicey. The holding deal that Warner Brothers had for the three actors expired last Monday, meaning that if any of them are brought in for the role then WB needs to move quickly before they get consumed by other projects.
This casting trio is fascinating on all sorts of levels. The most obvious level is Reynolds.
Reynolds is clearly attached the Deadpool film and plans to have a big say in it. However, should he take the role of Green Lantern, this will be his third superhero affiliated role, and it might sort of hurt the Green Lantern and Deadpool characters. Moviegoers will go into each film and expect some of the other hero from that film. Do I think Reynolds would be an awesome Green Lantern? Of course.
I just worry that the dual superhero roles will sort of conflict from a realism standpoint. And yes, I am aware I'm talking about two superhero movies where realism is taken with a grain of salt. Plus it seems like for every romantic comedy Reynolds does, he's right there with a macho superhero action film. At this rate he'll play every superhero in all universes!
Timberlake is just flat out intriguing. I mean, I know he's beefing up his acting resume and all. And "Dick in a Box" and "Mother Lover" are freaking epic. But can he carry a tentpole film like this for a major studio? Green Lantern is sort of DC's version of Iron Man: he's a character that everyone knows but they won't really realize how cool he is until they see a good movie with him on screen. Except in this case, Timberlake doesn't have near the charisma to pull of Hal Jordan that Robert Downey Jr. had when he pulled off Tony Stark. I'm not sure if I could take Green Lantern seriously if Timberlake took the part.
In the end, I still think Cooper is the best fit. He's not at that point yet where he's been in too many things, and he doesn't really have any other roles attached to him as an actor. Plus I'm sure he'll be a lot cheaper than Reynolds, and probably equal to Timberlake (WB wants to keep the film's budget at a modest $150-200 million). With an expected December 2010 release date, Cooper can pretty much start the film right now and work through it, capitalizing on the success of The Hangover (AWESOME movie by the way).
Green Lantern down to three actors
Update: The Hollywood Reporter says that Reynolds has taken the role, and the film is slated for a June 17, 2011 release.
The role of Green Lantern in a live-action film has essentially been Bradley Cooper's to lose. I mean, there have been reports coming out for a while now that say both Warner Brothers and DC are extremely high on Cooper for the green and black suit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, however, director Martin Campbell (along with producers Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti) actually have two other actors in mind for the role of the ace Air Force pilot Hal Jordan: Ryan Reynolds and...wait for it...Justin Timberlake.
All three have come in and done two screen tests each for the role, however here's where things get dicey. The holding deal that Warner Brothers had for the three actors expired last Monday, meaning that if any of them are brought in for the role then WB needs to move quickly before they get consumed by other projects.
This casting trio is fascinating on all sorts of levels. The most obvious level is Reynolds.
Reynolds is clearly attached the Deadpool film and plans to have a big say in it. However, should he take the role of Green Lantern, this will be his third superhero affiliated role, and it might sort of hurt the Green Lantern and Deadpool characters. Moviegoers will go into each film and expect some of the other hero from that film. Do I think Reynolds would be an awesome Green Lantern? Of course.
I just worry that the dual superhero roles will sort of conflict from a realism standpoint. And yes, I am aware I'm talking about two superhero movies where realism is taken with a grain of salt. Plus it seems like for every romantic comedy Reynolds does, he's right there with a macho superhero action film. At this rate he'll play every superhero in all universes!
Timberlake is just flat out intriguing. I mean, I know he's beefing up his acting resume and all. And "Dick in a Box" and "Mother Lover" are freaking epic. But can he carry a tentpole film like this for a major studio? Green Lantern is sort of DC's version of Iron Man: he's a character that everyone knows but they won't really realize how cool he is until they see a good movie with him on screen. Except in this case, Timberlake doesn't have near the charisma to pull of Hal Jordan that Robert Downey Jr. had when he pulled off Tony Stark. I'm not sure if I could take Green Lantern seriously if Timberlake took the part.
In the end, I still think Cooper is the best fit. He's not at that point yet where he's been in too many things, and he doesn't really have any other roles attached to him as an actor. Plus I'm sure he'll be a lot cheaper than Reynolds, and probably equal to Timberlake (WB wants to keep the film's budget at a modest $150-200 million). With an expected December 2010 release date, Cooper can pretty much start the film right now and work through it, capitalizing on the success of The Hangover (AWESOME movie by the way).
Green Lantern down to three actors
Comments
Post a Comment