Ryan Reynolds Spills The Beans on How ‘Green Lantern’ Paved The Way For ‘Deadpool’
Ryan Reynolds certainly struck gold with the unprecedented success of 2016's Deadpool. With news of a new Green Lantern movie on the works, he shares his experience as the Emerald Knight, as well as how it contributed to his current success.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter for its Awards Chatter podcast, the Canadian actor went on point on bringing Marvel's Merc with a Mouth to the big screen. His first take on Deadpool was in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where he played as Wade Wilson. While he was able to make most of his lines for the character due to the Writer's Guild Strike, he felt that it was underdeveloped. Also, his form in the climactic battle (known to fans as "Barakapool") didn't rub the right way with the audience.
In between the 11 year-production period for a Deadpool movie, when it seemed that nothing was picking up, he reluctantly took on another superhero title, this time for DC Comics' Green Lantern. He recalls calling a Fox exec and asking for a Deadpool movie, but was denied, which ended him with the "green and animated" suit.
Incidentally, during this time, traction for a Deadpool title suddenly picked up, and he found himself working with Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on a script for the Deadpool movie while shooting the Green Lantern film. However, the idea of playing as Wade Wilson became a question in his mind, fearing that the results of the DC movie may hinder his involvement on his dream project.
While this iteration of the Green Lantern was aimed to start a franchise, the 2011 release was met with dismal response, bringing in barely half of its $200 million production budget, plus promotion and advertising. Despite the losses, he found a reason to celebrate, as he met his current wife Blake Lively on the set. He also acknowledges it as a huge learning experience for him.
As Cinema Blend points out, the test footage leaked on 2014 really sparked the interest among fans, revving up the hype for the movie and forcing Fox to give their go signal. And when it hit the theatres last February, it was met with an overwhelming response that a sequel was immediately greenlit by Fox. Its success is not just exclusive to ticket sales, as the movie, as well as Reynolds, received positive reviews and several nominations, including the Golden Globe. An Oscar bid is also looked forward too, so that would really mean something for the upcoming franchise.
Currently, Green Lantern Corps is being rebooted by DC, with David Goyer and Justin Rhodes helming the project for a 2020 release. Reynolds, on the other hand, will be donning the red and black spandex once again for Deadpool 2 in 2018.
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