James Gunn says he jokingly asked Ryan Reynolds to return as the Green Lantern after he and Safran were put in charge of the new DCU.
"Ryan doesn't give a sh*t [Laughs]. One of the first people I talked to after getting the job was Ryan Reynolds. I'm like, 'You coming back?' He's like, 'Get the f*** out of here.' I'm joking! I wasn't really telling him to come back," Gunn said on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast.
Reynolds played Hal Jordan aka the Green Lantern in the pre-DCEU 2011 movie of the same name directed by James Bond franchise helmer Martin Campbell, which was both a critical and commercial failure. The film was actually set to kick off the DCEU before the sequel was scrapped and the studio opted to use Man of Steel as the first DCEU movie instead. Four years later, however, Reynolds would find success as Wade Wilson aka Deadpool in the 2016 Marvel movie - that would later become canon to the MCU.
The Green Lantern is, of course, coming to Gunn and Safran's DCU in the form of a TV show titled Lanterns. The upcoming series will be a "True Detective-style" take on the DC hero with Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan, who is tasked with mentoring a younger Lantern, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). They find themselves investigating an earth-bound murder that has much...larger implications.
Lanterns does not yet have a release date. Creature Commandos, the first official DCU TV series, is streaming now on Max. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming DC movies and shows you need to know about.
