Warner Bros. celebrates Ryan Reynolds' birthday with a Green Lantern themed message on social media. The actor's first stab at headlining a superhero franchise did not go as planned. Released in 2011, Green Lantern is one of the most infamous comic book adaptations of the 21st century. Criticized for its poor story and over-reliance on CGI effects, the film was an unmitigated disaster all around, earning just $219.8 million worldwide against a $200 million budget. Effectively, the planned series was killed before it truly began.
Reynolds, of course, was able to bounce back from the flop in a major way. He found comic book redemption in the form of 2016's Deadpool, which earned widespread praise and shattered box office records during its run. The sequel, released this past summer, was also very successful, paving the way for an X-Force spinoff. Given the meta nature of the Deadpool series, Reynolds hasn't been afraid to poke fun at his previous failure, and those who run WB's social media accounts enjoy having a bit of fun with it as well.
Related: The DCEU Has Been Setting Up Green Lantern From The Beginning
The official WB Home Entertainment Twitter page wished Reynolds a happy birthday today, riffing on Green Lantern's iconic mantra. Check it out in the space below:
This is far from the only time WB has played up their past relationship with Reynolds. Earlier this year, the studio capitalized on Deadpool 2's theatrical and home media releases by lamenting how Green Lantern turned out and reminding everyone to buy Hal Jordan's origin story on Blu-ray. Reynolds certainly has an interesting relationship with the DC film (to say the least), as he's admitted he never watched the finished product and frequently mocks the movie. Deadpool 2 even included a post-credits stinger where Deadpool traveled back in time to kill Ryan Reynolds, preventing Green Lantern from happening. It'll be interesting to see if there are any Lantern Corps. references in X-Force, but a case can be made this joke (however funny it is) has now peaked.
It's easy for Reynolds to sit back and laugh since Deadpool is one of the most popular offerings in the current comic book movie boom. For WB, things haven't gone as smoothly, with the DC Extended Universe reaching a low point in Justice League. Reshuffling things in an attempt to course-correct, the studio hasn't had much luck getting a new Green Lantern movie off the ground. A reboot is in development and once upon a time was supposed to release in 2020. That seems unlikely to happen now, but Geoff Johns is writing a new script, so hopefully it'll come into fruition soon.
More: Every Green Lantern Corps. Update You Need To Know
Source: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
