December 1, 2009 | by Rob Keyes 

Ryan Reynolds Talks Green Lantern Origin

green lantern origin - ryan reynolds as hal jordan costume

Last week,  we reported on an interview with Ryan Reynolds where the Canadian actor talked about the success he’s had in 2009 with two of the biggest elements being his casting into two major comic book movies: Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Deadpool.

Reynolds picked out one moment that stood out from the rest and that was when he got to see the Green Lantern prototype costumes for the movie. Seeing that and speaking with director Martin Campbell completely changed Reynolds’ mindset for the film and erased any hesitation and skepticism that he had.

“I think, seeing the prototypes for the Green Lantern costumes was a huge moment. It was a moment when I was like, “This is happening, and it’s happening in the right way.” That’s a pretty cool, definitive moment for me.”

Following that segment of the interview, MTV Splashpage put up the next part where Reynolds talked about the movie in more detail, explaining how the movie is only an origin story “to a certain degree” making comparisons to Iron Man and its success.

Reynolds explained that seeing Hal Jordan in the costume is only one aspect of the film and that the times when he’s not in superhero form are the moments you’ll truly feel and take away from the film.

“I think you walk away from this first film, and the moments that you remember and the moments that mean so much to you, not unlike ‘Iron Man,’ are the moments where the guy’s not in the suit… That to me is the tough thing to get right. And that’s something that they did get right [in 'Iron Man']. You see why this guy’s in the suit, and that’s what’s interesting to me. Not that he is in the suit, but why.”

Moving on, Reynolds wasn’t comfortable labeling Green Lantern as a pure origins film. He explains that the movie quickly moves to have the character of Hal Jordan being selected as the ring-bearer early on.

“It is [an origin story] to a certain degree, but it’s not a labored origin story, where the movie [truly] begins in the third act… The movie starts when it starts. We find out Hal is the guy fairly early on, and the adventure begins.”

What Ryan Reynolds says makes sense to me. Unlike Iron Man where a lot of time must be spent explaining how and why Tony Stark builds the suit and then the other suits, the explanation of how Hal Jordan gets the ring and costume can be done much more quickly in terms of screentime. This allows the story to focus on more of him learning to be the hero we know him as.

What would you like to see from the origins of the Green Lantern in the film?

Green Lantern opens in theaters June 17, 2011.

Source: MTV Splashpage

Bookmark and Share
Related Posts with Thumbnails

Tags:

  • I do like the idea of keeping the origin story to a minimum, I might actually be able to gather some excitement for this one, good star, great director.

    I still think GL powers have the possibility of coming across as a bit silly, but maybe I will just have some faith in this project.
  • Aknot
    Well the wonderful thing about Mr. Jordan is he has no baggage. In the first 15 mins (or less) we can learn he is one of the if not the best test/proto pilot. This can elude to his absence of "fear".

    Cuts tween the 15 ins can show Abin headed to and crashing on Earth. tie it all together as Hal lands spaceship crashes, leaves plane Abin crawls from wreckage. Hal showers "changes" out of gear as ring goes to look for him...

    Just use the cartoon... :D
  • INK
    "Just use the cartoon…"

    Exactly.
  • Imagine if they had used the 'Just Use The Cartoon' rule for Spiderman, those films would have been amazing instead of the snorefest Raimi cooked up.

    The animated versions are always superior.
  • M-Cat
    What's wrong with an origin story? I like origin stories.
  • I don't mind origin stories, but I would like for them to be done over the opening credits like in "The Incredible Hulk".
  • INK
    I think GL's origin story is pretty simplistic. Test pilot finds alien, alien gives ring to test pilot, *POOF*, superhero.
  • Syrus817
    Its a fast origin like everyone is saying, i dont see a reason to drag it out to make it an epic thing. It just kinda happens lol
  • T
    Oh come on, the "origin" should take at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the runtime, otherwise you just have eyecandy.
  • Michael
    I would think that since Hal is such a great character they would have just an origin movie, thats what i would love to see, because there is no one he really needs to fight or save the world from right away, because, his whole deal Sinestro takes some time, so, but either way it looks like a great movie
  • In esscence there is nothing wrong with origin stories, but it can be a massive waste of time, some characters are so well known, and it can really get in the way of the telling the actual story.

    The first X Men for example, spends so much time setting up the characters and there is no time for a story.

    The Incredible Hulk had the best idea, do the origins over the credits, it would have worked for Spiderman as well.
  • Andy S
    I like origin stories, but they have to be done well. IMO, the best one thus far was the original Superman movie. Half of the movie was origin and the other half was Supes saving the world and Lois. The origin of GL need not take half the movie, but for people who are not that familiar with the character it would be nice to have some solid backstory. I'd say no more than 20 minutes should be needed to show Hal becoming GL.

    Oh, and DrBeckett, the 2nd Spidey movie was great. The first was ok and the third did suck, but the 2nd one was one of the top 5 superhero movies made. (Superman, Batman Begins, X-Men 2, TDK and Spidey 2).
  • ronin
    I don't really find anything wrong with superhero origin stories. They don't just show how a certain character becomes a hero, it's also a way to build or establish the character himself, like his background; his lifestyle; the baggage he may or may not carry, etc., and how will all of this affect his new role as a hero.

    But I have to agree with what has been previously posted here...it has to be done in such a way that it will not be dragging that it will lull you to sleep (you'll realize it when you're suddenly roused from it due to all the "banging" and explosions) or done too short that it will make you say, "Huh? That's it?"
  • kimgo
    I really hoped they would keep green lantern black, like in the justice league cartoons. I really could see Ving Rhames, Lawrence Fishburne, or even Samuel L Jackson, portraying the Green Lantern Very Well.
blog comments powered by Disqus