As one of their first attempts to compete with Marvel Studios and their growing Cinematic Universe, DC and Warner Bros. released Green Lantern, a 2011 film starring Ryan Reynolds as test-pilot-turned-super-powered-space-cop Hal Jordan. The movie, which was fairly faithful to the DC comics, introduced Hal and the entire Green Lantern Corps, a whole force of space cops from all over the universe, including popular Green Lantern characters like Sinestro (Mark Strong) and Kilowog (Michael Clarke Duncan). The movie was designed to launch a new franchise of Green Lantern adventures (it even ended on a cliffhanger teasing Sinestro’s turn from hero to villain). This was going to be the start of a brave new era of DC films!

Then the movie actually came out. And it was, how do you say, absolutely awful.

That pretty much killed DC’s momentum for a couple years, and it certainly killed the Green Lantern property onscreen for a while. But with DC and Warners ramping their movie efforts once again, there’s renewed interest in rebooting Green Lantern, both as part of the new Justice League movie, and in a new version of his own new solo franchise. Rumors are flying (while coated in a magical green glow) about what this series will entail and who will star. The latest comes from the scoopers at Latino Review, who claim that Star Trek star Chris Pine is currently the favorite to play the new Hal Jordan (sorry Ryan Reynolds) in a Green Lantern film that would focus on several iconic GL characters:

One of them, the Green Lantern we’ve already seen onscreen is Hal Jordan. The other is the Green Lantern made popular by the animated JLA TV series, the black human Green Lantern John Stewart. Apparently, some story-world approved reason why they both exist will be explained, like having Stewart be the backup Lantern while Jordan’s on the JLA or having them be Lanterns from different sectors.

Latino Review also says that Tyrese Gibson from the Fast & Furious franchise is the current frontrunner for the John Stewart role.

Again, this is all rumor at this point, but I have to say: This would be very cool if true. Chris Pine would make a great Hal Jordan in the classic mold: The fearless, roguish, womanizing adventurer who’s incredibly brave but bristles at authority. He’s basically Captain Kirk with a magic green ring anyway, so the part would fit Pine like a glove. Tyrese I’m not sure sure about; Stewart’s traditionally written as a bit more of a serious guy, while Tyrese is known as the comic relief in the Fast movies. Still, it’s just cool to know the Green Lantern franchise isn’t completely dead after the disaster that was the Ryan Reynolds film. Just because that movie tanked doesn’t mean GL can’t work onscreen. It definitely can with the right cast and crew. Maybe the second time will be the charm?

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