>WB wants to launch their own cinematic universe to compete with the MCU. >Chooses Green Lantern to be their Iron Man because he was very popular in the comics at the time and was an aviator (some producers believed that the "Top Gun"-esque military elements in IRON MAN were the reason for its success). >Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim - who would later create the Arrowverse - write an efficient standalone script that still sets up sequels (John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Alan Scott cameos) and alludes to a larger DC Universe (Superman and Batman references). >WB expects the movie to be a hit and preemptively greenlights a sequel adapting “Sinestro Corps War”, with Berlanti & Guggenheim back on writing duties. >Producers outline a four-movie plan, with the third movie adapting “War of Light” and the fourth movie adapting “Blackest Night”, and bring in Geoff Johns as a consultant to work out the mythology. >WB brings in studio-approved writers to revise the script based on Johns’ notes and make it more budget-friendly. >Berlanti is initially in talks to direct, but WB gets cold feet about him handling such a big project as his first directing gig and decides to seek someone more experienced. >George Miller, fresh off the failed JUSTICE LEAGUE: MORTAL project, is offered the project, but turns it down as he's burned by JLM's own production problems (a story for another thread). >Enter Martin Campbell, who is the absolutely worst choice for the project: An old school director of gritty, stunt-heavy action thrillers put in charge of a CGI-heavy adventure blockbuster. >Campbell takes the job for paycheck, doesn't care about the comics. >Given how much is riding on the movie being a hit, WB is very hands-on during filming, which Campbell is not used to. >Campbell begins clashing with producers a lot and feels creatively stiffled, building up frustration.
>Casting time. WB wants an A-lister as Hal Jordan. Chris Pine and Sam Worthington turn it down. Michael Fassbender fails his audition because he is too unknown. Jared Leto and Justin Timberlake end on the shortlist. >Campbell wants Bradley Cooper, who is still gaining traction and didn't take his audition seriously at all. >WB has their eyes on Ryan Reynolds, who is already popular and building up credibility as a dramatic actor. >Campbell and WB clash again. This time, WB wins. Reynolds is cast. >Campbell antagonizes Reynolds throughout filming, reportedly forcing him to reshoot his scenes numerous times because he isn't "good enough". >Casting for Carol Ferris is equally troubled. Campbell favors Eva Green, with whom he worked on CASINO ROYALE. WB pushes for - and ultimately gets - Blake Lively. Also in the running were Rose Byrne, Diane Kruger and Jennifer Garner. >By this point, WB is convinced that they have the next STAR WARS on their hands and want to push it further by making it a visual effects benchmark on par with AVATAR. >They decide that Green Lantern's entire uniform will be CGI, created through motion-capture technology. >This proves to be more difficult - and expensive - than everyone thought. >Campbell can't handle the production demands, fell behind schedule, and production quickly goes overbudget. Things begin to unravel.
>Warner quickly realizes that they can't afford to make the movie as it was originally written. >Emergency rewrites and last-minute reshoots are ordered to cut costs as much as possible. >The big action setpieces are all scrapped and replaced by the least financially-demanding scenes possible (hence why Hal’s big fight against Hector Hammond amounts to them both writhing on the floor in pain). >The entire final battle featuring Hal, Sinestro, Kilowog and Tomar-Re facing off against Parallax is excised and a smaller-scale fight between Hal and Parallax is cobbled together. >Test-screenings are bad and WB realizes they have a potential bomb in their hands. >The studio halts development on the sequels and decides to remove all references to a larger DC movie universe, making it a standalone movie again. >In a last-ditch effort to drum up some interest, they include a post-credits scene of Sinestro stealing the yellow ring, even though it contradicts his entire character arc. >WB still holds out hope they can get a public hit despite the bad buzz and negative word of mouth from professional critics. >They don't. GREEN LANTERN bombs critically and financially. >GREEN LANTERN 2 is officially scrapped, and so is THE FLASH, which Berlanti & Guggenheim were already writing to connect with GREEN LANTERN and cement the DC movie universe (They later turned their script into the CW's series). >Reynolds' career takes a serious hit and is nearly derailed. However, he hooks up (and eventually marries) his co-star Blake Lively, and ultimately squeezes an entire stand-up routine's worth of jokes about GREEN LANTERN when he finally gets his Deadpool movie made and it becomes a box office smash. >Campbell's career also takes a serious hit, so much he doesn't direct a movie until 2017's THE FOREIGNER, six years after GREEN LANTERN. After another four year break, his next film THE ASSET is coming out in 2021.
>>They decide that Green Lantern's entire uniform will be CGI, created through motion-capture technology. So that's why it looks so unflattering
Jace Baker
Yeah people act like Johns ruined the film somehow, but it should be obvious to anybody with two brain cells to grind together they slapped his stuff in with a shit rewrite. They turned the 90's origin villain Legion into Parallax just by changing the name, and it just does not fucking work.
Oliver Peterson
Don't forget WB decided to kick off their DC universe with Green Lantern because Iron Man had fighter jets in it and clearly the fighter jets are why that movie worked. So they just grabbed the DC property with fighter jets and thought that would be good.
Jordan Martinez
The real problem is the entire design they picked is just terrible.
Carson Gray
kinda disheartening to read desu
they had good intentions
Nathan Bailey
Johns did ruin the film, he did the same thing with Justice League and Shazam He is one of the producers retard
Tyler Bell
>not once mentioning the Jack Black starring film written by Robert Smigel
Sebastian King
You dumb moron they slap anybodies name on for anything. They did that with GL to try to lie to comic fans. Read the fucking post, he never touched a script.
Nobody could save a Zack Snyder film. They've literally all been terrible. Shazam wasn't genius, but it was fairly good.
Gavin Harris
Shazam was great, and there’s no saving a Hack Snyder film.
Ryan Nelson
>>WB wants to launch their own cinematic universe to compete with the MCU. >>Chooses Green Lantern to be their Iron Man because he was very popular in the comics at the time and was an aviator (some producers believed that the "Top Gun"-esque military elements in IRON MAN were the reason for its success).
>It's been 9 years since this came out >Remember being so excited for it >Was in full on denial mode with the rest of Zig Forums when the reshoots were announced >See the movie and just feel so disappointed
Once again we are all reminded that coked-out executives meddling in a project never ends well. F to what might have been.
Connor Myers
>liking Shazam Enjoy your low iq flicks
Alexander White
This feels like it was more on Campbell, but then again WB hired him in the first place.
Hudson Brown
I remember wearing my GL shirt because fuck it, I love GL. I felt it would be mediocre at best and for damn sure it was.
James Sanders
>implying Snyder's movies are smart
Chase Bennett
Campbell certainly carries some blame.
Asher Phillips
That was real? I always thought that was a joke.
Benjamin Jenkins
>Sam Worthington >turns it down
That's ok. The world didn't need another Australian who couldn't hold his American accent properly.
>Jared Leto and Justin Timberlake end on the shortlist.
Dodged a bullet here.
>WB has their eyes on Ryan Reynolds, who is already popular and building up credibility as a dramatic actor.
Note to WB's film division: Comic books are big kid popcorn flicks, not high art.
>By this point, WB is convinced that they have the next STAR WARS on their hands
Kek, they're still chasing Star Wars money 30 years after the fact when they should've been chasing Iron Man money.
Logan Sanchez
>By this point, WB is convinced that they have the next STAR WARS on their hands and want to push it further by making it a visual effects benchmark on par with AVATAR. hahaha this is hilarious, the amount of delusion that execs have is amazing
Lucas Walker
I mean, a Green Lantern movie done well certainly could've been.
Tyler Bennett
As an Australian I have to say that Sam Worthington is a talentless hack and I'm still thankful to this day that the Commando remake starring him fell apart.
Ian Bell
>2017's THE FOREIGNER, six years after GREEN LANTERN
That one was good
Hunter Foster
Imagine being this wrong
Grayson Watson
Dumb Snyderfag
Robert Flores
Is it bad that I liked Ryan Reynolds as Hal and would want him back for it?
