Green Lantern director Martin Campbell opens up about the DC Comics adaptation, blaming Warner Bros. executives for the movie's failures. The film starred Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, a cocky test pilot who finds himself selected to become the first human member of the Green Lantern Corps and tasked with saving Earth from the malevolent being known as Parallax. Alongside Reynolds, the cast for the film included Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins and Taika Waititi.
Having spent nearly 15 years in development hell with Greg Berlanti serving as the primary writer and nearly director of the film, Green Lantern hit theaters in 2011 to largely negative reviews from critics and audiences alike and was also a box office disappointment, only grossing $219 million against its $200 million production budget. Plans for a sequel were scrapped and the film has lived in infamy in Hollywood since, with Reynolds frequently poking fun at the film both on social media and various projects, namely the Deadpool franchise. WB is currently looking to try and bring the character to life on screen again with the long-gestating Green Lantern Corps attached to the DC Extended Universe currently slated for a 2022-2023 release and an HBO Max series with multiple versions of the character.
In an effort to better promote his upcoming action film The Protogé, Campbell took to Reddit to host an "ask me anything" (AMA). When the topic of Green Lantern was raised with the filmmaker, he revealed that the biggest fight of his career came with WB executives over the film and blamed it for his distaste in returning to the genre. See what Campbell said below:
"[The worst fight I've ever been in was] with the Warner executives, over Green Lantern. I'd love to work in comedy! I think I'd do a good job. Marvel? Forget it. I f-ck-d it up once, never again."
A decade since its release, it's no secret that production on Green Lantern was a cake walk for those involved and that the final product was anything but a mess. Reynolds has been one of the more vocal critics of the film in the years since, referencing multiple injuries suffered on set and accusing the studio of rushing to get the film out based solely on having an idea for a cool poster. While the star's past comments have noted that the film needed a visionary behind it to steer it to greatness, Campbell's new comments seem to point towards there having been no way to save that project.
Though Campbell's filmography is not without a few losses aside from Green Lantern, the director was still riding the highs of the James Bond franchise restart Casino Royale as well as the modest reception to the film adaptation of the BBC series Edge of Darkness, which he also helmed. Seen as recently as Zack Snyder's woes with Justice League and his extended cut, WB has frequently displayed a misunderstanding in the connections between creative freedom with comic book filmmakers and success, though the DCEU's recent efforts of James Gunn's The Suicide Squad and James Wan's Aquaman have pointed towards positive steps forward. Only time will tell whether the new Green Lantern projects in the work at the studio will learn from the mistakes of the film or repeat them.
Source: Martin Campbell/Reddit
