Ryan Reynolds has hinted at his appearance in the upcoming Zack Snyder cut of Justice League, adding more fuel to rumors about the film’s inclusion of a Green Lantern. Reynolds starred in Green Lantern in 2011, which was a critical and commercial failure, and the actor has since renounced the film altogether. Later came the 2017 release of Justice League, which is infamous for its production woes that had Joss Whedon oversee extensive reshoots following Snyder's departure after the death of his daughter, with the tone of the film changed in response to vocal criticism of the previous movies in the DCEU. Snyder subsequently shared story details and concept art teasing his Justice League, which spawned the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut fan campaign to allow the director to finish it. The campaign worked, and Warner Bros. decided to fund the movie's completion, with Snyder's Justice League releasing on HBO Max in 2021.

Reynolds' tweets about Justice League and Green Lantern play off this dense narrative. The first tweet shot down rumors about him playing Hawkman in the DC film Black Adam, but offhandedly mentions that he may be in the Snyder Cut. He then posted a video of “The Reynolds Cut”, in which Deadpool kills the actor before he can star in Green Lantern, Tom Cruise takes his place, and the Justice League shows up. Reynolds is known for his social media antics, from starting feuds with other celebrities (especially Hugh Jackman) and even poking fun at Justice League Superman’s computer-generated upper lip. However, this prank goes a lot deeper as it relates to both the actor’s superhero history as well as some speculation surrounding the Snyder Cut.

Related: Justice League Theory: The Snyder Cut Introduces DC's Green Lantern

There is a lot to unpack from Reynolds’ Justice League tweets to reveal his true intentions. Multiple clues have hinted toward Snyder Cut Green Lanterns, which is not just one superhero but a position held by thousands of beings across the universe who are a part of the Green Lantern Corps. For one, Green Lanterns do indeed cameo in the theatrical version of Justice League during the flashback showing Steppenwolf’s first attack on Earth. Snyder has also hinted at some sort of larger Green Lantern role in his movie through cryptic tweets and concept art. There was also a Green Lantern Corps film planned at one point, which has since shifted into an HBO Max original series. And while DC had seemingly moved on from Reynolds's Green Lantern, they did use a clip of him in the Arrowverse's Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event.

Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern Joins the Justice League in Joke Video

On the other hand, Reynolds's mischievous sense of humor means he is more likely using a renewed interest in this character to crack jokes about his failed movie. He does it a lot in interviews, commencement speeches, and even acts like he has never met Green Lantern co-star Taika Waititi. Reynolds’ feelings toward Green Lantern and the inclusion of Tom Cruise in the short video points towards this all being a huge jest. While there is a lot of evidence to suggest at least one Green Lantern will show up in the Snyder Cut, it is unlikely that this would be the Reynolds Lantern.

This is not to say that Reynolds would never give the character another shot, whether that's Green Lantern appearing in a future Justice League installment or a sequel to his movie. It would not be the first time an actor returned to a comic book role they felt that they left unfinished. For example, Michael Keaton will be reprising his part as Batman in 2022's The Flash. There is also potential for Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield’s version of Spider-Man to show up in a Spider-Verse sequel after it was part of the first film’s initial story. Reynolds himself even did this with Deadpool after X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The possibility remains open, and Reynolds would probably do it just to have a new movie to joke about.

More: Green Lantern: What Went Wrong With Ryan Reynolds' DC Movie

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