Ryan Reynolds Eyed For Sensational ‘Green Lantern’ Return, Will Fight Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Cruise, Bradley Cooper For Superhero Role

While there were quite a few moviegoers left disappointed by Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman, Warner Bros’ additions to the DC Extended Universe in 2016, the studio are still moving full steam ahead with their cinematic exploits in the DCEU.

It was previously announced that in 2017 we’ll have both Wonder Woman and Justice League, while The Flash and Aquaman will arrive in 2018, Shazam in 2019, and then Cyborg and Green Lantern Corps in 2020. Only Shazam and Green Lantern Corps’ leading actors need to be confirmed. According to recent reports, Warner Bros. is now making some huge inroads with the latter blockbuster. They’ve even drawn up a long list of six actors that they plan on approaching about the role of Green Lantern.

It’s quite a surprising list, too. That’s because, if speculation from The Wrap is to be believed, the studio are set to approach Ryan Reynolds about a sensational return as the Green Lantern. The Golden Globe-nominated actor previously portrayed Hal Jordan in 2011’s Green Lantern, which was deemed a huge disappointment. Not just critically, as it only scored 26 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, but financially, too, as it grossed a paltry $219.9 million across the world for a $200 million budget.

At this point in Ryan Reynolds’ career, it was believed that the Canadian actor had wrecked his chance to forge a career as a superhero. Not just because of the Green Lantern, but also because of his debut as Deadpool in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which was widely different from the comic book source material. This was because they changed Deadpool’s costume, sewed up his mouth, and thus stopped the deranged wit and quips that were his hallmark, and even bizarrely gave the character Cycolps’ optic blast ability.

20th Century Fox gave Ryan Reynolds another opportunity to do the character of Deadpool justice in February 2016, though. And you probably heard that it went rather well. That’s because Deadpool was released to huge critical acclaim, scoring 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, while it also resonated with a mainstream audience. Despite being given a budget of just $58 million by 20th Century Fox, an amount so small that huge changes needed to be made throughout its production, it went on to gross $783.1 million at the box office. This made it the most successful installment to the X-Men franchise yet, while Ryan Reynolds’ utterly captivating and charismatic titular performance saw him earn a Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Golden Globe nomination, and made him one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood.

So much so, in fact, that he’s now been linked with returning to a role that he vacated six years ago and failed to have any luck with, too. But Ryan Reynolds has got his work cut out to actually secure his role as Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern again. That’s because, according to The Wrap‘s sources, DC Entertainment also have five other actors that they’re considering for the role in Green Lantern Corps.

They’re pretty big names, too, because Tom Cruise, Joel McHale, Bradley Cooper, Armie Hammer, and Jake Gyllenhaal are also being eyed for the role. However, it has also been reported that the DC Extended Universe is still in the very early stages of development with Green Lantern Corps, and that they’ve not held discussions with any of the actors about possibly portraying Hal Jordan.

Tom Cruise is probably the biggest name on the list. But even though he has never been involved in a superhero film before, he is attached to the Mission Impossible and Jack Reacher franchises, while there’s also every chance that Ryan Reynolds will decide to put all his eggs in the Deadpool basket rather than over-extended himself with another superhero role in Green Lantern Corps.

[Featured Image by Warner Bros]