Christopher McQuarrie explains why he isn't directing DC's Green Lantern Corps. One of the many projects that Warner Bros. and DC Film have been trying to develop in recent years is another movie for the Green Lanterns, after Ryan Reynolds' version flopped. The project has eyed several big name directors and stars in the past, but no movement has happened. David S. Goyer was writing the movie with the potential for him to direct, while other rumors claimed Rupert Wyatt was in consideration. The latest and most popular one is that Mission: Impossible - Fallout's director Christopher McQuarrie could put his stamp on the property.
The first rumors of McQuarrie tackling Green Lantern Corps came early this summer, but after earlier reports pointed to Tom Cruise as the potential lead as Hal Jordan. If WB was interested in him before, then the franchise record setting box office run that Fallout is in the final stages of and the film's wild critical praise would appear to be even stronger reasons why he'd be sought after. However, McQuarrie says he isn't doing the movie, and now he's explained why.
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Collider had the chance to talk to McQuarrie during the Q&A portion of a Mission: Impossible - Fallout screening they hosted and the discussion eventually turned to the potential of him doing a DC movie. When it came specifically to his involvement with Green Lantern Corps, he did confirm that he met with the "previous regime" (when Geoff Johns was co-chief of DC Films) about the movie. So why isn't he attached already? Well, it comes down to the underdeveloped state the movie is in.
"That’s kind of the world that it’s in, and when I came in on Green Lantern I was like, ‘Here’s how I would do Green Lantern,’ and they were like, ‘Ah, but you know,’ and I said, ‘Well, that’s what I would do,’ and they said, ‘Well, will you direct it?’ And I said, ‘No, ’cause there’s no script.’ And they said, ‘Well you write the script,’ and I said, ‘But I may not be the guy to direct,’ like don’t make it a McQuarrie movie, make it the greatest Green Lantern you can make it. We don’t know what that is tonally. We don’t know what any of that stuff is until we get under the hood, and I may be the worst guy in the world. You may end up with Tim Burton’s Green Lantern, and I don’t have that pride of authorship. I’m not the guy who comes in and goes, ‘It’s mine, from the visionary director.’ Bullsh*t f***in’ words. You’re a director! You’re a visionary, that’s your job."
McQuarrie has previously told Screen Rant that his interest in any DC property comes from a good story. He doubled down on those comments earlier in this interview by saying he's not a comic book guy and just wants to tell good stories, regardless of the genre or characters involved. But, it appears the team behind Green Lantern Corps wants to stick to the comics in places where McQuarrie believed it would be better to go against it. Since they couldn't come to an agreement on what the vision for the movie should be, it would've been quite a difficult partnership.
Making his comments even more interesting is him saying there's no script yet for Green Lantern Corps. Goyer mentioned at the beginning of the year that the movie was still in development, but the status of the script was never clear. Based on McQuarrie's comments, Goyer may have never been able to crack the story for the movie (at least in the way that the studio wanted) - which may explain why Geoff Johns is now writing the script.
McQuarrie could ultimately still be the director for Green Lantern Corps down the road, and it'd be a fascinating collaboration if it happened. If Johns' script is great, then DC will want to use it, but McQuarrie and Johns potentially may have clashed on the vision for the movie before. But, Johns could also deliver a story that McQuarrie likes and a deal could be worked out. For now, fans shouldn't get too excited in the potential of a McQuarrie-directed Green Lantern Corps, though.
More: Every Update You Need to Know About Green Lantern Corps
Source: Collider
