Ryan Reynolds on why Green Lantern failed and Deadpool succeeded

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Before DEADPOOL, Ryan Reynolds' previous shot at playing a superhero didn't go nearly as well. Warner Bros. had hopes that GREEN LANTERN would launch a new superhero franchise, but after the scathing reviews and lackluster box-office (not to mention that animated green suit), any hope for the further adventures of Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan were dashed when the studio cancelled their already announced sequel. GREEN LANTERN's failure thankfully didn't keep Reynolds out of the superhero game for long, and, after a regrettable detour in X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, he finally found a winner in DEADPOOL. Ryan Reynolds spoke with Entertainment Weekly recently and laid out the simple reason for DEADPOOL's success and GREEN LANTERN's failure.

Well it’s simple: Deadpool always knew what it was. With Green Lantern, I don’t think anyone ever figured out exactly what it was. That isn’t to say the hundreds of men and women didn’t work their fingers to the bone to make it as good as possible. It also fell victim to the process in Hollywood which is like poster first, release date second, script last. At the time, it was a huge opportunity for me so I was excited to try and take part in it. I did however write a letter to Fox right before I had to decide whether or not I was gonna do Green Lantern. I asked one last time sort of like the groom standing at the alter, ‘Will you please be my wife?’ and they said they couldn’t pull the trigger on Deadpool. For too many reasons too boring to illustrate, it just didn’t work.

DEADPOOL 2 is due for a January 12, 2018 release and Warner Bros.' next attempt at bringing Green Lantern to life, GREEN LANTERN CORPS, is believed to be hitting theaters on June 24, 2020.