While we reported yesterday that The Green Lantern was down to a three-way race between Ryan Reynolds, Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake (Jared Leto also screen-tested), it’s now been seems almost certain that it’s Reynolds who’s got the role. To be honest it’s a bit of a surprise, not because Reynolds wouldn’t be a good choice for the role, but because conventional wisdom is that you don’t have the same star for two different comic book franchises.
With Reynolds already lined up to reprise his X-Men Origins: Wolverine role in a standalone Deadpool, many had thought this would rule him out of Green Lantern, however it might now be that it’s the other way around. While there’s always the possibility he will appear in both films, it would be unprecedented for DC and Marvel to both agree to him starring as one of their heroes, so if he’s playing Green Lantern, it may mean he’s no longer going to make Deadpool, although we’ll have to wait and see.
One proviso though, while other places are saying it’s definitely Reynolds who’s got the role, that’s not quite true. What’s happened is that Reynolds is the only one of the actors who was in the running to have his option extended, which is an indication that he’s who the studio wants and that Ryan is willing, but as yet no deal had actually been done and negotiations are ongoing. That said, it would be surprising if a deal wasn’t done on such a coveted role.
We await with interest what this means for Deadpool though.