Considering it cost $200 million to make and has so far grossed only about three-quarters of that amount around around the globe, you’d have thought Warner Bros would be writing Green Lantern off as a costly flop. However the movie’s lack of success isn’t stopping Warner from talking about a sequel.
President of the studio’s film group Jeffrey Robinov believes that the problem with Green Lantern’s first foray onto the big screen was in its execution, not its concept. He Told the LA Times, “We had a decent opening so we learned there is an audience. To go forward we need to make it a little edgier and darker with more emphasis on action And we have to find a way to balance the time the movie spends in space versus on Earth.”
Withough saying it openly, they’re basically placing the blame on the shoulders of 70-year-old director Martin Campbell, who won’t likely return for second helpings even though he is contracted to do so (and that’s Warner’s decision, not his).
Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, and Marc Guggenheim, the team responsible for writing the first installment, have already written the screenplay for Green Lantern 2, but its quite likely that this particular draft completely reworked, basically making it a more earthbound reboot of the material without the origin story getting in the way.
Jeffrey Robinov also chimed in about two other DC Comics adaptations that are planned by Warner Bros. He claims that The Flash has “a solid script”. And that the studio is indeed moving forward with its Justice League of America movie as planned. But there is no solid word on when this will ever happen.
It’s difficult to see another Green Lantern movie working after the first flopped, just because you’ll have so many audience suspicions to overcome. However if they can do it much cheaper, perhaps they can turn a profit this time.