Superman’s Green Lantern Fixed a 14-Year-Old Ryan Reynolds Mistake

There are some skeletons in DC’s closet. The reason James Gunn was given the reins to the DC Universe was that the DC Extended Universe did serious damage to the brand’s reputation. There was promise at the start, but it quickly became apparent after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that critics and fans weren’t responding positively to the DCEU’s direction. Moving away from Zack Snyder’s vision ended up only being a temporary solution, so by the time Gunn showed up to make The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, he was on a sinking ship. Fortunately, the powers that be made a smart choice by giving Gunn full control, an arrangement he accepted and ran with.

The first mission was to get arguably DC’s most important hero, Superman, back on track. However, Gunn wasn’t going to let the opportunity to introduce other heroes pass him by. He included Hawkgirl and Mister Terrific in his latest superhero film. But even more important than them was Guy Gardner, one of Earth’s Green Lanterns, who allowed Gunn to make up for a mistake Ryan Reynolds’ movie made all the way back in 2011.

Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern Movie Didn’t Let the Power Ring Shine

Unlike Superman, which drops Guy Gardner into the middle of the action with no explanation, Green Lantern explores Hal Jordan’s origin. A test pilot who thinks he’s cooler than the other side of the pillow, Hal has his life turned upside down when a power ring chooses him to succeed Abin Sur, the Green Lantern who died fighting Parallax. The next step in Hal’s journey is to travel to Oa, where the Guardians of the Universe reside, and learn what it means to be a Green Lantern. Kilowog and Sinestro give the new hero a crash course on using his new hardware, but they don’t flex their muscles much, creating ordinary items that anyone can find on Earth. Parallax shows up shortly after, which means Hal doesn’t have much time to push his limits. The best the former pilot can do is whip up a couple of fighter jets that save him from a fiery death.

Green Lantern‘s failure to spawn a sequel means Reynolds will likely never get the chance to conjure a green structure again, but that’s probably for the best. The actor is living his best life at Marvel Studios, while Gunn is taking the Green Lantern Corps to places it’s never gone on the big screen. In Superman alone, Guy creates a massive middle finger, a device that plunges a metal hammer into a kaiju’s eye, and a muzzle that stops the same monster from eating the other members of the Justice Gang. And the best part is that Guy is just the tip of the iceberg, as there are plans for at least two other major Green Lanterns in the DCU.

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DC Studios is hard at work on Lanterns, a TV series that will focus on a new version of Hal Jordan taking a young upstart, John Stewart, under his wing. A murder plot is going to force them to spend plenty of time in Nebraska, which doesn’t sound like a great training ground. However, despite being grounded, there’s no doubt that Lanterns will follow in Superman‘s footsteps by giving Hal and John creative freedom. Coming from different worlds means they’ll have different approaches to protecting Earth, but that’s great because all of the Green Lanterns in the 2011 movie feel the same, down to all wearing the same costume.

Having Guy be a member of the Justice Gang all but guarantees that he won’t have the same uniform as Hal and John. It also opens the door for multiple Green Lanterns to have major roles in the franchise at the same time. While Hal’s best days are probably behind him, John could very well join the next iteration of the Justice League and fight alongside Superman and Co. Guy will probably be jealous of another team stealing the Justice Gang’s thunder, but he’ll get over it once he realizes how bad the alternative is.

Superman is available on digital.

Are you glad that Superman let Guy Gardner come up with wild creations with his power ring? What do you hope to see from John Stewart and Hal Jordan in the DCU? Let us know in the comments below!