Warner Bros. has stepped things up a notch in its (unofficial) cinematic battle with Marvel, with writers already tapped to pen treatments for both Green Lantern 2 and The Flash.

With Marvel on the threshold of its Avengers movie, buil on the backs their standalone franchises The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and now Captain America and Thor, Warner Bros. is getting ready to increase the presence of DC Comics' heavy hitters on the big screen even further.

Heat Vision Blog says the DC/WB has hired Greg Berlanti (a rumored director for The Flash), Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim - who co-wrote the first Green Lantern film - to tackle the treatments for the Green Lantern sequel and The Flash movie.

According to THR, as part of the deal, the trio would then go on and write the screenplay for one of the two projects, though which has not yet been determined.

This is the best indication yet that The Flash will finally be following fellow Justice League members Batman, Superman and now Green Lantern and graduate from the pages of a comic book to an action movie blockbuster.

justice league movie dc movie universe continutiy superman zack snyder

No doubt The Flash's movie campaign has been aided by long-time DC writer Geoff Johns being appointed chief creative officer of DC Entertainment, which was recently created to bring its comic and film universes closer together - arguably in a similar way to what Marvel has been doing with its commodities in print and on the screen.

With Johns on board playing such a pivotal role in The Flash movie's development, it is safe to assume this incarnation of the Scarlet Speedster will be Barry Allen - as opposed to Wally West who was lined up for George Miller's canned Justice League film - which should make fans happy. Johns recently resurrected Allen's Flash in the DC Comics universe, after the character's untimely death in 1985.

Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds and directed by Martin Campbell, is next for DC/WB - scheduled for a June 17, 2011 release - sandwiched in between Marvel's Thor, which opens on May 19, 2011, and Captain America: The First Avenger, out on July 22, 2011.

Marvel unleashes its all-star team-up The Avengers on May 4, 2012, but Warner Bros. and DC will counteract that with Christopher Nolan's Batman 3, which will hit theatres on July 20, 2012, and the Superman reboot, The Man of Steel, to follow on Christmas 2012. Expect The Flash sometime in 2012 or 2013 and Green Lantern 2 in 2013.

green lantern costume ryan reynolds hal jordan

The first Green Lantern is currently filming in New Orleans, and if a treatment is already being sought for the sequel, Warner Bros. must be liking what it is seeing on set. Johns, in fact, was pleased when he visited recently, and way back we learned that Green Lantern was being conceived as an epic trilogy, and with this latest news it certainly seems as though DC/WB is committed to that approach

So there you have it. Green Lantern 2 and The Flash about to be up and running.  I still think Ryan Reynolds may have been better suited to Barry Allan/Flash than Hal Jordan/Green Lantern. However, since that bird has flown, who should play the Flash? And for that matter, what should the movie be about?

By the way, while we're asking questions, just where is that Wonder Woman movie?

Source: Heat Vision Blog