This is good news. At first I was taken aback, thinking of Ryan Reynolds as strictly a comedic actor, and comedy is definitely not what comes to mind when you think of Hal Jordan, one of the more serious heroes in the DC universe. However, Reynolds has more than just comedy on his film resume. He has convincingly displayed a serious side in such films as Smoking Aces, Blade: Trinity, and The Amityville Horror. Letting this drive away any thoughts of a Van Wilder Green Lantern, I will give Ryan Reynolds a chance. He just may pull this off and become a huge star in the process. He can yuk it up as Wade Wilson in Deadpool, the planned spin-off from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and save his more iconic performance for Green Lantern.
The reaction to Reynolds choice has been overwhelmingly positive in geek forums across the net, but this may just be a collective sigh of relief after a short period in which Justine Timberlake was in the running. Yes we are talking about the "Cry Me A River" Timberlake who is as foreign to the geek community as higher cognitive functions are to fish. About 24 hours before the official announcement of the Reynolds pick, a story broke on the web pitting the role of Hal Jordan between three actors : Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper, or Justine Timberlake. Saving thousands of fanboys from certain suicide, Reynolds ultimately got the role.
Not to get all Alex Jones here, but it seems like the Timberlake option was just a ruse designed to drum up more support for Reynolds. Did anyone at Warner Brothers really believe Justine Timberlake could take on the role of the Green Lantern? Any studio hack who thought this was a good idea needs to be fired at once. The last thing we need is Timberlake showing up in a future Justice League or Flash movie.
Ryan Reynolds is Green Lantern
