When script details about the upcoming live-action Green Lantern movie hit the ‘Net last summer, it was clear that the film was going to be epic in scale. The script had kick-ass battles set on both Earth and in space, requiring a whole F/X bonanza in order to bring the emerald power rings of the Green Lanterns (and all the rings’ crazy manifestations) to life on the big-screen.
Well it seems as though Warner Bros. isn’t backing down from challenges of the Green Lantern script: The Hollywood Reporter is…well, reporting that Green Lantern’s budget has been tagged at $150 million, roughly the same amount of dough Warner Bros. dished out for Watchmen.
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Slash Film did a great job putting together a comparative budget list of recent superhero flicks, in order to show where Green Lantern falls on the scale: above Iron Man, but well below The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3. Still, for a second-tier superhero like GL, who is not (yet) part of the cultural mainstream, that’s a pretty hefty wad of cash.
The Green Lantern is currently slated to go into pre-production later this summer, with principal shooting scheduled to begin this fall. The movie is being filmed over at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, where the recent decline of the Australian dollar should help stretch that $150 million budget even further. I’ve also got to wonder if the Watchmen lawsuit settlement between Fox and Warner Bros this past winter had any bearing on the decision to make Green Lantern at a Fox-owned studio.
With a script, a budget and a shooting location and schedule all locked down, the only task left is for Green Lantern to nail down it’s cast–especially the titular role of Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, which has yet to be cast, despite months and months of rumors stating that DC/Warner Bros. were eyeing everyone from Ryan Gosling to Anton Yelchin to Chris Pine for the role (oh, and Brian Austin Green also wants a crack at it, too).
A big budget and good script are lovely things to have, but that lead role needs to be filled with just the right leading man, or The Green Lantern runs the risk of being dead before it even has a chance to get off the ground.
On a curious note: Green Lantern is currently listed as a December 17, 2010 release, which is very surprising; you would think this film would be an obvious summer tentpole for Warner Bros. Maybe the studio thinks that a December release will guarantee their film is the only blockbuster at the box office? Or maybe they plan to tout Green Lantern as a “prestigious superhero flick” rather than popcorn fun? I just hope this isn’t one of those cases where we get close to the release date and the studio “suddenly decides” to push the movie back to 2011 because they feel it’s a “Summer contender.” That’s become somewhat of a lame trend lately (cough, Harry Potter 6, cough).
Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) is directing The Green Lantern, and the script was written by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green.
If you need a Green Lantern fix between now and December of 2010, you can also check out DC Universe’s animated feature, Green Lantern: First Flight, which hits DVD/Blu-ray on July 21, 2009.
How do you feel about the $150 million budget for Green Lantern? Do you think it guarantees that the film is going to be awesome and epic? Or is money an insufficient guarantee that the film will be awesome?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter via Slash Film
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17 Comments
well the budget may not be as big as spiderman 3, but hopefully the quality of the film will be better than it
@ Kofi
Don’t forget what happened to Star Trek (2009). It was a December release when the powers that be decided to move it because they felt it would be a better “summer contender.”
Wow, $150 million. I wonder if that’s a sign of who they might want to be Hal Jordan…
I’m almost willing to guarantee this will be a summer ‘11 release.
I fear that if a film like this bombs in spectacular fashion, the studios may start shying away from superhero flicks.
Why not hire a savvy indie director for a character like GL, someone who knows how to stretch a dollar (Robert Rodriguez??)
I doubt the Fox lawsuit had any bearing… After all, WB filmed Superman Returns here at Fox Studios, too.
So cool that my most anticipated film in years is being filmed a short drive from my sister’s place! Woo-hoo!
Maybe Green Lantern was scared away from summer by Green Hornet.
Seriously, I dont see a Christmas connection with superheroes and its especially odd that Warners would place Harry Potter 7a and GL so close together after last years Harry Potter delay fiasco. Maybe Warners is just conceding summers to Marvel. In any case, its nice to see them show they believe in this by fronting some real budget.
I was told there recreating Los Angeles locations on the Australian set because its cheaper than shooting in LA,,,
Arnold was supposed to lower taxes and provide incentives for the film community but like most campaign promises he lied.
Even though i find Lantern to be one of the more ridiculous comic book characters, i suspect this movie could be pretty cool now that we have cgi to do on film all those ring tricks which usually look rather tacky in the comics. If done well it could be worth watching for the visuals alone.
Sweet!!!!
Its about time the guy gets a real chance to shine outside of animation. I cant think of anyone more deserving. He has definitely paid his dues as an animated guest star: http://superheroshows.blogspot.com/2009/04/spotlight-on-green-lantern.html
@ Hero Supreme
“Its about time the guy gets a real chance to shine”
Do you mean Guy Gardiner?
I think if this is done properly it will be huge!! I love the character and have been reading the Hal Jordan version in comics for the last 30 years..Hate what they did with the Parallax story arc but at least Geoff Johns cleaned up most of that mess with the Rebirth storyline a few years ago. The character has all the potential to be a major franchise for WB..just give it the treatment it deserves and starting with a 150 million budget and Martin Cambell as a director is certainly heading in the right direction.
I think if Star Trek does well in May (duh..I think that may be a forgone conclusion) Chris Pine may be playing Hal Jordan/Green Lantern.. This is shaping up to be one of my most anticipated films for next year and it could be the dark horse like Iron Man was last year..
I as a comic book / comic book movies fan am glad to hear that a film like GL is getting such a generous budget since he isn’t one of the more popular superheroes. With this budget, I think that says that DC is trying to make this into their version of what Marvel did with Iron Man. This movie will need good special effects to make it great and its good knowing they’ll have the budget to do this.
Now the only thing left to guarantee this movie into being a possible great film is the actor playing Hal Jordan/GL.
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