Green Lantern reboot ideas.

[Llama_Shepherd]

Barry Allen only appeared in about 20 issues until he was rebooted from that rather morose post-death personality.

When John initially appeared he was sort of a culmination of the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series, John was almost a black power caricature at times, and thus far it seems they haven't learnt their lesson with Simon Baz who is nothing more than a modern day version of that. This is why when John got rebooted into an ex-marine he became defined by it, and his failure to save Xanshi.

Hal's a much better character than what the film showed, he wouldn't need much tweaking.

 

[DocHolliday]

From what I gather, WB gave DC some leeway on the creative side of things for Lantern and let them supervise the script/cast.

Just goes to show how inept the current management is. Though, to be fair, DC editorial has always been this way - proud to be anal retentive fanboys that revel in their exclusive comic book club.

Geoff Johns and co. have gotten so used to writing comics for 30/40 yr old fanboys that they've forgotten that the average moviegoer isn't going to care about his version of Lantern on the big screen. Why? It's heavily reliant on a larger knowledge of the DCU. Lantern should have started simple. Have Hal receive the ring and DON'T show any other Lanterns...at all for the first film. You have to establish the protagonist first before you de-unique him. The Lantern Corp SHOULD have been introduced in a potential second film that builds on a larger story. It's sad that a professional writer like Johns(a guy that's been handed the reins of the entire DCU) doesn't understand simple things like this. Even the original creators of Lantern knew that it was important to keep Hal unique early on. Another GL didn't appear in the Lantern comics until the sixth issue....200 pages into the run. The logical thing to do for a first outing was to have the hero learn how to use the powers on his own(the early Kyle Rayner stories did this quite well).

Fans like to blame WB for Lantern's failure but DC dropped the ball here. As a comic book writer, I like Johns. As DC's chief creative office...I'm scared ****less for DC's film division. Warner Bros probably thought the same thing which is why they've gone the Nolan/Goyer route for future DC films and why they're sticking with only Batman/Superman. This is why you don't let fanboys like Geoff Johns run your comic book company. They'll run it into the ground before it's too late to fix things.

 

[BH/HHH]

I personally think there were two ways it should have been done, one was an Earth Based story before he meets the guardians or the other Lanterns which could have worked, could have had a smaller budget and could have been less if a risk. They could have ended it like the scene from First Flight where he's confronted by the Green Lanterbs who order him to OA. Leading that into the sequel. Also with this idea we might have gotten a true character arc for Hector Hammond.

The other option was a space opera as such, the Star Wars if the DCU. Much like First Flight it could have started on earth briefly and then gone into space for the rest of the film. Have the villains be the Manhunters who I believe for the first foray into space would be the best choice for starting villains. But I agree this would have been better left for a sequel.

The thing is they wanted that Star Wars type universe but didnt quite know how to achieve it and that's why we ended up with something in the middle if the two options. Unfortunately it just didn't mesh all that well (even though I do like the film) and they spent too much time setting up for the future. Ultimately WBs seemed like they were in a rush to get to the Sinestro turn but they shouldn't have been. A smaller first film, leading to two bigger sequels would have been a better option, but I guess it's easy to say that in hindsight.

 

[DocHolliday]

I personally think there were two ways it should have been done, one was an Earth Based story before he meets the guardians or the other Lanterns which could have worked, could have had a smaller budget and could have been less if a risk. They could have ended it like the scene from First Flight where he's confronted by the Green Lanterbs who order him to OA. Leading that into the sequel. Also with this idea we might have gotten a true character arc for Hector Hammond.

The other option was a space opera as such, the Star Wars if the DCU. Much like First Flight it could have started on earth briefly and then gone into space for the rest of the film. Have the villains be the Manhunters who I believe for the first foray into space would be the best choice for starting villains. But I agree this would have been better left for a sequel.

The thing is they wanted that Star Wars type universe but didnt quite know how to achieve it and that's why we ended up with something in the middle if the two options. Unfortunately it just didn't mesh all that well (even though I do like the film) and they spent too much time setting up for the future. Ultimately WBs seemed like they were in a rush to get to the Sinestro turn but they shouldn't have been. A smaller first film, leading to two bigger sequels would have been a better option, but I guess it's easy to say that in hindsight.

You mean Johns and DC Creative. WB let DC supervise the story elements and the script for this one. Johns has ALWAYS been a proponent of making his villains "cooler than the hero". This works in comics all the time. Hell, it works in films too(Dark Knight) but you have to at least establish the protagonist FIRST. Dark Knight had an entire previous movie devoted to setting up Batman with Begins.

 

[BH/HHH]

You mean Johns and DC Creative. WB let DC supervise the story elements and the script for this one. Johns has ALWAYS been a proponent of making his villains "cooler than the hero". This works in comics all the time. Hell, it works in films too(Dark Knight) but you have to at least establish the protagonist FIRST. Dark Knight had an entire previous movie devoted to setting up Batman with Begins.

No I mean they as in the studio. Johns had creative influence yes but he didn't have any final say. The studio are the ones who interefeered, hiring the wrong director etc. They were all about what they could make from the product not if the final product was any good.

 

[Lord]

Green Lantern: Secret Origin is really what i think the film should have been like, both Hal and Sinestro were interesting and well developed, their relationship was entertaining and it set up a sequel about Sinestro's downfall.

Unfortunately because of that film we won't be able to revisit Hal's origin until the next decade, so i highly recoment to move on to Justice League with John Stewart and then see the reaction, who knows, maybe DC will later be able to expand upon the GL property with a Green Lantern Corps movie, starring John Stewart and Guy Gardner.

 

[Loki882]

From what I gather, WB gave DC some leeway on the creative side of things for Lantern and let them supervise the script/cast.

Just goes to show how inept the current management is. Though, to be fair, DC editorial has always been this way - proud to be anal retentive fanboys that revel in their exclusive comic book club.

Geoff Johns and co. have gotten so used to writing comics for 30/40 yr old fanboys that they've forgotten that the average moviegoer isn't going to care about his version of Lantern on the big screen. Why? It's heavily reliant on a larger knowledge of the DCU. Lantern should have started simple. Have Hal receive the ring and DON'T show any other Lanterns...at all for the first film. You have to establish the protagonist first before you de-unique him. The Lantern Corp SHOULD have been introduced in a potential second film that builds on a larger story. It's sad that a professional writer like Johns(a guy that's been handed the reins of the entire DCU) doesn't understand simple things like this. Even the original creators of Lantern knew that it was important to keep Hal unique early on. Another GL didn't appear in the Lantern comics until the sixth issue....200 pages into the run. The logical thing to do for a first outing was to have the hero learn how to use the powers on his own(the early Kyle Rayner stories did this quite well).

Fans like to blame WB for Lantern's failure but DC dropped the ball here. As a comic book writer, I like Johns. As DC's chief creative office...I'm scared ****less for DC's film division. Warner Bros probably thought the same thing which is why they've gone the Nolan/Goyer route for future DC films and why they're sticking with only Batman/Superman. This is why you don't let fanboys like Geoff Johns run your comic book company. They'll run it into the ground before it's too late to fix things.

No, that would be the absolute WORST thing that you could do. One of the major complaints of the movie was that the Corp and Oa didn't appear ENOUGH. You have this unique world with all these cool and interesting creatures, and you spend most of your time on Earth with generic humans, people didn't like that.

 

[brainchild81]

I think the only thing that can save GL is Justice League.
Have John Stewart in the Justice League movie, put as much distance from the previous GL movie as possible and then spin off this new Green Lantern into his own movie. You ABSOLUTELY do not have Ryan Reynolds anywhere near JL to colour the general audiences' perception of the Justice league movie.

Let Hal rest in peace, he had his day.

Introduce John in the Justice League movie, then a do a prequel/origin movie by going the Jaded War Veteran route.

John having retired from the Marines, fed up from the horror and death of war. He returns to his old neighborhood with the goal of achieving his childhood dream of becoming an architect. With the renewed resolve of leaving the life of a soldier behind, he accidentally gets sucked into the biggest war our Galaxy has ever seen and is the last hope for the Mighty Green Lantern Corps. He must do what he promised himself he would never do again, take up arms and fight another war but this time as a the Emerald Guardian.

Ditto. There's so many cool directions you can go in w/John. Hal doesn't really bring anything to the table at this point, except baggage.

From what I gather, WB gave DC some leeway on the creative side of things for Lantern and let them supervise the script/cast.

Just goes to show how inept the current management is. Though, to be fair, DC editorial has always been this way - proud to be anal retentive fanboys that revel in their exclusive comic book club.

Geoff Johns and co. have gotten so used to writing comics for 30/40 yr old fanboys that they've forgotten that the average moviegoer isn't going to care about his version of Lantern on the big screen.

Ditto. I'm not sure if it was WB or DC's fault, but it's time for whoever's in charge to realize that the GA doesn't care about Hal like his comic fans do & they never will no matter how much money WB/DC wastes trying to promote him. Some characters just don't translate well into live action.

 

[BH/HHH]

HaI disagree that Hal brings baggage. If anything the thing that will bring baggage is the Green Lantern name and concept. I imagine people would say oh god not another Green Lantern the last one was awful. There'd also be more an association with Ryan Reynolds than the character of Hal.

End of the day Green Lantern failed for several reasons, the script was poor, they got the wrong director, even though I think he could have worked I'm not sure the GA can buy Ryan Reynolds in a role like this, the whole GL FX were a tad strange and if you look at past examples an over abundance of CG can be met with indifference I.e. Speed Racer. The film didn't because of Hal Jordan at all, it failed for the reasons I just mentioned. Had it been a well put together film it would have been better received and it would have found its audience, maybe not at the BO but maybe like Dredd did, no one can say if they made a GL film the same way but with a different GL it would have done better cause it wouldn't have. At the end of the day the films biggest problem was it was a poor film.

 

[Lord]

That doesn't mean it's portrayal of Hal Jordan was poor either, along with the plot that was one of my biggest problems, there were many interesting things they could have explored but instead went with the weakest of them all.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

Taking something unique and turning it into "Same old, same old" is one of the GL movies two sins. It's general mediocrity in story execution is the other. This is Hal Jordan for Zod's sake! He shouldn't have some crisis of confidence moment. If anything they should have played up his fearlessness. Show that there are limits to how effective that world view can be. Think about it. If you were fearless you might not be the most popular guy. "Sorry, that dress DOES make you look fat." "No, I won't explain that again just because you were not smart enough to follow it all." "Well the real problem is that your son is a drunk idiot." No fear might mean *****ebaggery galore. Fearlessness can mean arrogance. I think that Sinestro's existence alone should show how fearlessness is morally neutral. Sinestro is fearless and honest as Hal is. Does not stop him from trying to become a universal dictator. Exploring characters defined by those kind of traits would have been interesting. Instead we get hero's journey #12854723.

Also put me in the camp that thought we were getting a movie that would showcase the cosmic side of DC and establish the Corps. as a linchpin of the DCCU. Instead that remained unexplored to say the least. This really needed to be "Training Day" in space, end, full stop. Hal spends such a short time on Oa. And what do we get instead? Frakking Hector Hammond eating up screen time.

That all being said, it's not the abomination some like to claim. It's just... there. It's VFX are fine. But not particularly spectacular. It's story is ok. But not very engaging. The production design is not bad, but it does not distinguish itself either.
I think GL's best bet is to be intro'd in either the proposed FLASH tv show, or in a JLA film along with J'onn.

 

[Lantern Venom]

No, that would be the absolute WORST thing that you could do. One of the major complaints of the movie was that the Corp and Oa didn't appear ENOUGH. You have this unique world with all these cool and interesting creatures, and you spend most of your time on Earth with generic humans, people didn't like that.

I couldn't agree more. Once Hal made it to Oa, he shouldn't have returned to Earth until after the climax. Hal's training and fitting into the Corps should have been the focus of the film at that point, not Hector's jealousy and disfunctional relationship with his father.

Green Lantern: Secret Origin is really what i think the film should have been like, both Hal and Sinestro were interesting and well developed, their relationship was entertaining and it set up a sequel about Sinestro's downfall.
.

I also agree, here. The Hal-Sinestro dynamic should have gotten more focus than Hal-Carol. Hal winning over the Corps should have come before Hal winning over Carol.

 

[Lord]

Yeah, and to tell the truth, i also prefered Hal - Carol's relationship in Secret Origin, felt more human. 2 major things that the films plot failed in delivering were Hal/ Sinestro's buddy cop relationship and the theme of fear.

About the film being set on earth, well, with Parasite on earth i agree that the film should have been set mostly in space, but if they had a better plot i think it could have worked on earth very well, just not with a cosmic menace like the Parasite though.

 

[the last son]

You can't introduce him again until Justice League. You have to basically do him like Hulk in Avengers and have him be shown as an action star. Show how many cool things he can do and make him likeable. I also think you have to go with Stewart. Why not? It's not like Jordan is as iconic as Batman, Superman, etc, etc.

 

[smallville fan]

Hmm if it was me making this thing, I would have to go with the fan's preference to wanting John Stewart as the Green Lantern for JL. Take note that this is first Lantern the audience is introduced to. Hal Jordan does exist but he's not on Earth at the moment.

After JL, in the next GL solo movie, along with John, you could bring in Hal along with Guy Gardner and introducing new recruit Kyle Rayner. Out of all of them, it would be made clear to the audience that Hal and John seem to be the alpha leaders around here. This movie would be an Avengers-style ensemble cast movie where all the Lanterns, human and others(like Kilowog etc) all unite to take on the Sinestro Corps or Atrocitus and the Red Lantern Corps or the Manhunters. You could also shoe in Easter Egg references to the Thanagarians or other alien races like the Gordanians etc as well as folks like Darkseid.

To differentiate this movie from that other one we shall never speak of, call it: "Emerald Guardians"

P.S. What's the status of Arrow's chance of being in the DCCU? This idea may change if Diggle is in fact the John Stewart of that world.

 

[BH/HHH]

John in JL I'd be fine with but its Hal I want for the solo franchise at least at first

 

[Lord]

John in JL I'd be fine with but its Hal I want for the solo franchise at least at first

I agree to a certain extent, yeah Johns in the League now is the best way to go right now, i prefer that to shoe horning Cyborg just because he's black.

I disagree to an extent about the solo franchise because while i think Hal is the one who should lead the solo GL films, i'm one to having a Green Lantern Corps movie starring John Stewart and Guy Gardner.

 

[storyteller]

I think Hal presents the problem of just being a handsome white guy with problems. Then again that's only if his problem are girls and being an idiot. A competent Hal Jordan is a different beast.

But I would prefer John for all it simply because the DCU is very white.

 

[Lantern Venom]

Green Lantern: Secret Origin is really what i think the film should have been like, both Hal and Sinestro were interesting and well developed, their relationship was entertaining and it set up a sequel about Sinestro's downfall.

Unfortunately because of that film we won't be able to revisit Hal's origin until the next decade, so i highly recoment to move on to Justice League with John Stewart and then see the reaction, who knows, maybe DC will later be able to expand upon the GL property with a Green Lantern Corps movie, starring John Stewart and Guy Gardner.

*Gasp* You include John and Guy, but no Kyle?!!

Take it back, lest I spew Red Lantern vomit at thee!

 

[BH/HHH]

I agree to a certain extent, yeah Johns in the League now is the best way to go right now, i prefer that to shoe horning Cyborg just because he's black.

I disagree to an extent about the solo franchise because while i think Hal is the one who should lead the solo GL films, i'm one to having a Green Lantern Corps movie starring John Stewart and Guy Gardner.

Yeah and I'd like a corps film but I think it would have to spin off from the solo franchise or JL.

 

[Lord]

*Gasp* You include John and Guy, but no Kyle?!!

Take it back, lest I spew Red Lantern vomit at thee!

Too much dude, maybe wait for a sequel to that film

Yeah and I'd like a corps film but I think it would have to spin off from the solo franchise or JL.

In this case the Corps film would spin-off from Justice League, and show that there are many other Green Lanterns

 

[BH/HHH]

The other Green Lantern I'd like to see is Kyle Rayner but I don't think you can do him until after Hal.

 

[DocHolliday]

No, that would be the absolute WORST thing that you could do. One of the major complaints of the movie was that the Corp and Oa didn't appear ENOUGH.

According to who? You?

You have this unique world with all these cool and interesting creatures, and you spend most of your time on Earth with generic humans, people didn't like that.

There's nothing wrong with having a Lantern origin story being on Earth. If the Earth scenes were boring, it's because the filmmakers MADE them boring. Just because something is written badly doesn't mean it actually IS bad.

 

[p4poetic]

I'm tired of the word 'reboot'. I feel like its redundant at this point.

Not directing this to you OP, btw.

 

[Rorschach2012]

According to who? You?



There's nothing wrong with having a Lantern origin story being on Earth. If the Earth scenes were boring, it's because the filmmakers MADE them boring. Just because something is written badly doesn't mean it actually IS bad.

I take it you weren't around the Green Lantern boards after the film came out. One of the biggest fan complaints was about there not being enough scenes on Oa and that the Earth scenes sucked. Which I agree with, but I thought every scene sucked except for the first scene with Abin Sur.