Lanterns may be on everyone's lips right now, but fans are discovering that a Green Lantern movie starring Jack Black almost happened.
As revisited by YouTube channel Cutshort, talks surrounding Jack Black and Green Lantern began in 2004 on gossip column Lying in the Gutters and an Ain't It Cool forum post.
Described as a "zany comedy" and penned by writer-actor Robert Smigel as an adaptation of 1980s arc Emerald Dawn, a script was leaked online in 2006.
The leaked script was panned then and looks no better in retrospect: a giant Pikachu battle (baffling), Jack Black's Lantern almost destroying the Earth (bizarre), and a 'green' Superman (bewildering) all featured.
"The idea sounds serviceable as a separate superhero comedy, but it's crazy as the first ever Green Lantern live action movie," one person commented beneath Cutshort's YouTube video.
Another added, "Hearing [about] this script really makes me appreciate the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern movie all the more."
A decade after the fact, Black spoke to Yahoo about why the scrapped project was cancelled. Ultimately, it was the studio's decision not to forge forward with the idea, perhaps understandable at a time when they had the likes of Superman Returns and Batman Begins on the way.
"There was a really funny script, an awesome script that I wanted to do, by the genius Robert Smigel… but they didn't want to pull the trigger," Black said. "They were making zillions of dollars with all their other superhero movies – they didn't want to mess with that formula."
Of course, Green Lantern would go on to be adapted for the big screen – in a notorious, Ryan Reynolds-led flop that is still less-than-fondly remembered today.
Green Lanterns are finally eating good, though, thanks to HBO's Lanterns, starring Aaron Pierre as John Stewart and Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan.
For our verdict, read the Lanterns review. Then look at what else James Gunn has planned in the DCU with our guide to DCU Chapter One.
