# Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691 "2009-07-11T18:18:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/21 "2009-07-13T11:36:10Z")
Even though I’ve seen him in a few things and enjoyed the movies despite his presence, I still don’t forgive him for _Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place_. And I think playing two different superheroes from two different “Universes” is a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/22 "2009-07-13T11:49:20Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > And I think playing two different superheroes from two different “Universes” is a bad idea. Ben Affleck played Daredevil and Superman . . . sort of . . . ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/23 "2009-07-13T12:36:06Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Ben Affleck played Daredevil and Superman . . . sort of . . . But one was not the comic book version. It was a much better movie than Daredevil though. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/24 "2009-07-13T13:38:06Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > While I like the casting choice- Ryan Reynolds is one of those “just hasn’t yet hit it” action stars- I’m a bit dubious about the movie itself. How do you make a movie about a guy who can do anything he wants _interesting_? Ummm…He can’t do anything he wants. Assuming we are talking about the Earth 1 GL, his ring is neutralized by al things yellow. If we are talking Earth 2 GL, it’s wood. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/25 "2009-07-13T13:55:39Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > Ummm…He can’t do anything he wants. > > Assuming we are talking about the Earth 1 GL, his ring is neutralized by al things yellow. > > If we are talking Earth 2 GL, it’s wood. Only if we’re talking 5 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Brandus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Brandus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/26 "2009-07-13T14:04:07Z")
Green lantern has always been one of my favorites because his power is only limited by his imagination. I hope he does some really cool things with his ring. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/27 "2009-07-13T15:04:47Z")
Green Lantern will work in movies precisely because of the lack of imagination. The SFX guys can now finally bring to life the images that GL makes with his ring. He’s the almost perfect superhero for movies. So why do I say lack of imagination? Because the writers have to imagine visual concrete objects made by the ring to keep it interesting. They never have him teleport the villains’ weapons - and all the clothing - into the sun. They never have him reduce an object into component atoms and scatter them on the wind. Instead they’ll have him create a giant hammer to hit them with. Actually happened. Recently GL made a giant scissors to cut something apart. He’s not the possessor of the “third most powerful weapon in the universe” (cite: some GL comic I read once) but of a kid’s toy. The Transformers have made $300 million. Kids’ toys will do well with GL, too. And does Hal even have a personality or an inner life? They can’t possibly do the backdtory of him dying and becoing god-like and coming back to life and that whole ten-year arc. They’ll start with him being chosen and learning about the ring. They’ll find a Carol to give him a love interest. It will be a total clone of the Iron Man plotline except that Downey had loads of character and charisma. Does Reynolds? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/28 "2009-07-13T15:32:56Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > They should get [Steve Buscemi](http://www.gonemovies.com/WWW/WanadooFilms/Misdaad/Pink2.jpg) to play [Sinestro](http://entertainment.upperdeck.com/dc/common_images/gallery/sinestro.jpg). Or [John Waters!](http://blog.news-record.com/staff/culture/John%20Waters-thumb.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/29 "2009-07-13T23:22:13Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > So why do I say lack of imagination? Because the writers have to imagine visual concrete objects made by the ring to keep it interesting. They never have him teleport the villains’ weapons - and all the clothing - into the sun. They never have him reduce an object into component atoms and scatter them on the wind. I’m confused-are you saying that GL should do this in the movie? That he can do this? Not as far as I know. And Reynolds is my best choice out of the known candidates. I’m just thankful it didn’t go to Justin Timberlake or whoever, as I’d heard rumored. ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/30 "2009-07-13T23:22:55Z")
I could have sworn I just read an article about the script being written for the movie to be like a police procedural involving the Corps. Now I can’t find it. Was that an old revision? ---
**Author:** ![PunkyPoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@PunkyPoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunkyPoo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/31 "2009-07-13T23:35:44Z")
A great pick. Looking forward to the movie now. What a great bod 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/32 "2009-07-14T00:06:13Z")
> [@Mr\_Buttons](#): > > I’m a big Ryan Reynolds fan, but I still put him on the B list when I think of big action stars. I just don’t think Reynolds is ready to carry a whole movie by himself (I know _Waiting_ was basically carried on his back, but that was hardly a summer blockbuster.) > > I see this winding up in the recycle bin with Catwoman and Daredevil. ☹ It reminds me of the kid in _Entourage_ signing to play Aquaman. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/33 "2009-07-14T02:59:37Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I’m confused-are you saying that GL should do this in the movie? Absolutely not. > [@](#): > > That he can do this? Not as far as I know. He can do anything with his ring. Supposedly. In the real world of comics, oxymoronic as that is, he can’t do anything. His real restriction is not the color yellow, but the limitation that he can only do things that the penciller can render into a visual. There are much more effective things he could do, like those I named or a thousand others, but they would be abstract or non-visual or not POW and WHOOSH. For movies, far more even than comics, visual POW and WHOOSH take precedent over everything and anything else. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/34 "2009-07-14T05:19:35Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Iron Man did pretty well for itself. Iron Man is a billionare playboy in an power armor battle suit. Who the F is Green Lantern? And how many comic book characters is Van Wilder going to play? -Hannable King -Deadpool -and now Green Lantern ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/35 "2009-07-14T06:33:01Z")
> [@Mr\_Buttons](#): > > While my comic book reading zenith was around 89-93, I can still remember the Green Lantern involved in a couple of them. Well the test for whether something is iconic or not IMV is whether or not people who were never into comics have heard of the character. Green Lantern just doesn’t pass that test though Iron Man does. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/36 "2009-07-14T06:37:21Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > It reminds me of the kid in _Entourage_ signing to play Aquaman. You’re not the only one. 😉 They should get Adrien Grenier to play Green Lantern. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/37 "2009-07-14T12:35:01Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Well the test for whether something is iconic or not IMV is whether or not people who were never into comics have heard of the character. Green Lantern just doesn’t pass that test though Iron Man does. Dovovan disagrees. @.52 ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xuEsggscWnU/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/xuEsggscWnU?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque Yeah, GL isn’t known to as many moms as Spider-Man or Superman, but neither were Wolverine or the X-Men. The genre is so established at this point that it doesn’t really matter. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/38 "2009-07-14T14:30:59Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Yeah, GL isn’t known to as many moms as Spider-Man or Superman, but neither were Wolverine or the X-Men. The genre is so established at this point that it doesn’t really matter. The X-Men (and Wolverine) were the stars of one of the most popular superhero Saturday morning cartoons ever in 1992. The 10 and 11 years the cartoon was aimed at were in the prime moviegoing teenage years when the first X-Men movie was released in 2000. The Green Lantern has been a small part of DCAU cartoons like Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, but they don’t have the reach the X-Men cartoon did. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/39 "2009-07-14T14:54:40Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > In the real world of comics, oxymoronic as that is, he can’t do anything. His real restriction is not the color yellow, but the limitation that he can only do things that the penciller can render into a visual. There are much more effective things he could do, like those I named or a thousand others, but they would be abstract or non-visual or not POW and WHOOSH. > > For movies, far more even than comics, visual POW and WHOOSH take precedent over everything and anything else. I noticed the same thing about Neo in _Matrix Reloaded_. Once he becomes The One, he should be able to casually bend the “reality” of the Matrix to his will. Stop bullets with a gesture, make enemies explode, etc. as formed the climax of the first film. Why, then, does he get into repeated kung-fu fights in _Reloaded_? By all logic, if someone attacks him, he should be able to kill them with a glance. Answer: because kung-fu fights are eye-candy. Killing people with glances ain’t. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691/40 "2009-07-14T15:38:30Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > He might be both deadpool and GL if Deadpool winds up with the mangled face. Otherwise having the same actor play both is going to ruin one of them. Ain’t It Cool said in some interview, Reynolds said that yes, Deadpool will be disfigured. If that’s the case, then it would be line Ron Pearlman. Even with the distinctive gravelly voice, not once did I think Hellboy and Vincent were the same person. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ryan-reynolds-as-green-lantern/502691.md?page=3)