Ryan Reynolds Is Green Lantern, Natalie Portman in ‘Thor’

Several major casting announcements have come down the pipeline for upcoming supehero movies, including Ryan Reynolds -- who recently starred as the Marvel vigilante Deadpool in "X-Men: Origins: Wolverine" -- beating out Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake for the starring role in the "Green Lantern" film about the ring-wielding DC superhero. This gives Reynolds a major role in two superhero franchises -- one for Marvel, and one for DC.

Current "Green Lantern" writer Geoff Johns reported on Twitter that he was "very happy" with the casting, although fan reaction seemed to be mixed, prompting Boom! Studios Editor-in-Chief Mark Waid to comment that "(1) I don't understand the fantrums about Ryan Reynolds as GL, and (2) and more importantly, I don't want anyone to try to explain them."

This morning also brought the news that actress Natalie Portman, who once shaved her head for a role in the film adaptation of DC/Vertigo's "V for Vendetta," will be making a DC/Marvel crossover for the "Thor" film, where she will play Thor's first love, a nurse named Jane Foster.