There's 1 Thing Green Lantern's Director Wishes Ryan Reynolds Did On the Movie to Make It a Success

Ryan Reynolds' long-derided blockbuster, Green Lantern, continues to be one of the most mocked films in the superhero genre, including by Reynolds himself. However, director Martin Campbell believes there's one thing the acclaimed actor could have done to fix the movie and improve its reputation.

Speaking with The Direct, Campbell delved into Green Lantern and Reynolds' many jokes at the film's expense over the years. Campbell believes Green Lantern would have been a better film adaptation of the eponymous comic book hero if Reynolds had penned the script, a sentiment he previously shared. "I wish to God he had written the script, and it would have been great. But he's always taking jabs at it. And fair enough. Though, listen, it was a big success for him because he met Blake Lively," he said.

Though Reynolds has shown no mercy to Green Lantern in various interviews and appearances, Campbell doesn't hold any ill will towards the award-winning actor and enjoyed working with him and his eventual wife, Blake Lively. "You know, look, people didn't like it. It failed, right? I was the director, so, you know, obviously I take the heat for it, which is fine... But all I can say is, Ryan's a very funny guy, very fun. We actually had a terrific time on the film. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and with Blake Lively. She was terrific as well. And he's always, he's got a great whip, you know, Ryan," he said.

Green Lantern Nearly Derailed Reynolds' Superhero Ambitions

Released in 2011, Green Lantern features Reynolds as the Hal Jordan iteration of the titular hero, a test pilot selected to become the first human member of the Green Lantern Corps and given a ring granting him superpowers to take on the villainous Parallax (Clancy Brown). After an underwhelming feature as a closed-mouthed Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Green Lantern did Reynolds no favors in his hopes of thriving in the superhero genre. Despite a cast also featuring Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins, Michael Clarke Duncan and Taika Waititi, Green Lantern garnered a 25% critical rating and 45% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes while bombing hard at the box office, making $237. 2 million worldwide against a $200 million budget.

Thankfully for Reynolds, he rebounded when earning a second chance to play Deadpool in 2016's Deadpool and 2018's Deadpool 2 for 20th Century Fox, two critically and commercially successful films that did the Merc With a Mouth justice. Reynolds then landed an opportunity to bring Wade Wilson to the Marvel Cinematic Universe through Deadpool & Wolverine, teaming him with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Deadpool & Wolverine also became critically acclaimed and is the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history ($1.338 billion worldwide).

Despite making jokes at Green Lantern's expense, Reynolds recently admitted he learned several lessons from his experience on the film. At the TIME 100 Summit in April, Reynolds insisted he had a soft spot for the movie as it taught him how constraint propels creativity and that "too much money, too much time wrecks creativity. It just murders it."

Green Lantern is available to stream via HBO Max.

Source: The Direct