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Ryan Reynolds is game for making a Green Lantern cameo in the DCU, because of course he is

Ryan Reynolds believes that he "owes" his career to the 2011 Green Lantern film, even if it was a flop

An image of Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern
Image credit: Warner Bros.

Green Lantern lore is having a moment right now thanks to the success of HBO and DC Studios's Lanterns show. Lanterns follows up on the mythos of the Green Lantern Corps that was referenced in James Gunn's 2025 Superman film, which introduced Nathan Fillion's ring-slinger, Guy Gardner. Of course, now that Lanterns is winning over folks who were once skeptical about whether or not a live-action Lantern project could appeal to an HBO audience, cinema's original live-action Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds, has been asked what his feelings are about this moment in our zeitgeist. 

At the premiere for his new Apple TV+ film, Mayday, Ryan Reynolds was asked by ET whether he'd be up for making a cameo appearance on HBO's Lanterns. "I would totally do a cameo in that; I love it," Reynolds began. "I learned so much making that movie. And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, 'Oh, learned what not to do,' in some part, yes. But also, any time you're making something that large, there are core lessons that come of it. And I owe my entire career to that movie," Reynolds said about the 2011 Green Lantern film

In case you've memory-holed the Green Lantern film, Ryan Reynolds starred alongside Taika Waititi (who played Tom Kalmaku, Hal Jordan's best friend in comics, who is Inuit. Hollywood casting is wild), Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller, Blake Lively as Carol Ferris, Geoffrey Rush as Tomar-Re, Mark Strong as Sinestro, and Temuera Morrison as Abin Sur. On one hand, it's cool that two Māori actors (Waititi and Morrison) were in a Green Lantern film. Morrison's fight scene as Abin Sur is one of the film's brighter moments. But also, it was a deeply 2011 Hollywood decision to sub in a Polynesian person like Waititi for an Inuit character like Tom Kalmaku. 

Thankfully, the tides have turned for Green Lantern, and we'll have to see if James Gunn and Peter Safran take Reynolds up on his offer of making a cameo appearance somewhere in the DCU. 


Shine a light on our list of the best Green Lantern comics.

Jules Chin Greene

Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, and Multiverse of Color.

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