Green Lantern gets Lively

She’s made a name for herself as the skimpy-dress-wearing ‘blonde one’ in Gossip Girl .

Now, young up-and-comer Blake Lively has officially landed the much-desired role of Carol Ferris in Martin Campbell’s live action version of Green Lantern .

Beating off competition from four other (big name) actresses , Lively will play opposite Ryan Reynolds as the Buff One’s love interest. And not a second too soon, as shooting begins mid-March, with a June 2011 release date.

According to Heat Vision , Lively “impressed the studio and filmmakers with her audition”. We can only assume that her drama chops, honed in both her TV and film work, caught their attention, as well as her other impressive, um, assets.

Lively has previously tested the big screen with a role in the two Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants films, and played a young Robin Wright Penn in 2009’s The Private Lives of Pippa Lee . You can also see her in Ben Affleck’s new flick, The Town , set for release later this year.

Surprised by the casting? Give us your thoughts below...

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.