‘Dawn Of Justice’ Dismisses Green Lantern, But Preps More Surprises For Ultimate Edition

Dawn of Justice may rewrite the playbook for what can be done in superhero films. If Dawn of Justice can successfully play the two heavyweight title characters off each other, while balancing a rich, emotional storyline and sending viewers into Justice League territory, then it will have been a feat of cinema, not just superhero cinema. But they’ll be doing it all while neglecting Green Lantern, and not just for Dawn of Justice, but further DC films, too.

For all the chances taken here; putting Wonder Woman on movie screens for the first time; reinterpreting Batman even after his successful Christopher Nolan run, and continuing the Man of Steel storyline despite that movie’s controversial reception, Green Lantern will remain just a glint in the collective fan’s eye. Maybe if Ryan Reynolds is ever available again, they will bring him in for a second try at the character, having learned from past mistakes. The reception of 2011’s Green Lantern was cold enough to make Warner Bros. cringe at the thought of including him in Batman v Superman.

Avant d’être Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds était Green Lantern, à voir dès 17h! pic.twitter.com/OUxIue6eQx

— V (@vtele) February 21, 2016

Apparently, Warner Bros. isn’t putting Green Lantern back on screen anytime soon. He might show up in 2019’s Justice League 2, but even then, he won’t play any central role. DC and Warner Bros. need to be convinced enough time has passed from the Green Lantern solo film that any memories of the first movie’s failings won’t weigh in people’s decision on whether they would be willing to watch another movie with the character in it.

But DC does have a Green Lantern Corps movie scheduled for 2020. Green Lantern is not a minor Justice League member. Green Lantern may follow the same road that Marvel took with Ant-Man. In the comics, Ant-Man was a founding member of the Avengers, but he wasn’t introduced in movies until the end of Marvel’s Phase Two after the Avengers already had two team films and multiple solo outings.

Despite leaving out Green Lantern, the other Justice League character introductions should be enough to have fans feel that Green Lantern just wouldn’t fit in time-wise. Fans will have to be satisfied with Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg, and of course, the onscreen dominance of Wonder Woman. With all this muscle and power, who needs Green Lantern anyway? The problem with this logic is that it’s going to be hard to introduce him later if they wait too long.

ICYMI: Green Lantern may not join the DCU until 2020 or JLA Part 2 https://t.co/dkUPISAC4J pic.twitter.com/QNs5OaATCQ

— ThePlaylist (@ThePlaylist) March 4, 2016

But an Ultimate Edition of Dawn of Justice will arrive in home versions. It will be even longer than the two-and-a-half-hour theatrical Dawn of Justice and include even more characters. Despite the extended cut, don’t expect to see Green Lantern there, either. As Newsarama reports, the mystery character played by Jena Malone will show up there, after getting cut from the theatrical version. Other juicy tidbits and goodies are in store, too. And the home editions will include an R-rated version of Dawn of Justice for adults to watch after putting the kids to bed.

Besides Jena Malone, Zack Snyder hinted to Entertainment Weekly about a few more actors only making it into the Ultimate Edition of Dawn of Justice.

“There’s a couple, like, Ahman Green, the running back from the Green Bay Packers, he’s in it. And C.T. Fletcher is like this bodybuilder muscle-guru from Compton, this awesome guy. He’s amazing, and he’s in it. And then there’s just a lot of these Easter Eggs in the Director’s Cut that I think are gonna be fun for everyone.”

With all the cool new stuff only in the Ultimate Edition, should fans bypass Dawn of Justice in theaters for an even more packed home version?

[Image via Clevver Movies]