Official Green Lantern Casting and Discussion Thread

[Octoberist]

if all else, I think Flash is next in line THEN Wonder Woman. Which is not fair since Wonder Woman is a part of the DC Trinity.

 

[GL's Light]

I think The Flash will be made before Wonder Woman, too. The Flash is very easy to envision as a cinematic hero, whereas they're having trouble with Wonder Woman in that regard. I think the problem lies in her origin story and the whole Paradise Island back story. They seem to be nervous about how that'll play - in fact Joel Silver has said as much. Once she's established as a superhero in the story they'd probably feel pretty confident about how she comes across on film, but it's getting to that point that's the problem.

 

[Octoberist]

i agree. the Paradise Island is hard to do.

 

[dnno1]

Female superheroine films are hard to do (and make a profit at it).

 

[dnno1]

Female superheroine films are hard to do (and make a profit at it).

 

[BestGirl]

Female superheroine films are hard to do (and make a profit at it).

I think this is WB's problem with WW, more than Paradise Island. If WB can make a movie about a guy who wields a ring powered by willpower and imagination than an island inhabited by Amazons shouldn't be too much of an obstacle.

 

[GL's Light]

I think this is WB's problem with WW, more than Paradise Island. If WB can make a movie about a guy who wields a ring powered by willpower and imagination than an island inhabited by Amazons shouldn't be too much of an obstacle.

I'm sure the past failure of superheroine films, and the fact that female-led action films in general have lower box office than male ones, is a significant factor at work, too. But Green Lantern has a pretty simple marketing hook: a test pilot is drafted into an intergalactic police force where he interacts with all sorts of bizarre aliens and learns to use a weapon that can conjure up whatever his mind wills it to.

Wonder Woman's origin is a little tougher to show in live action and be confident that it's going to come across as cool and engaging. The recent animated film did a good job of providing a template for how it could be done, though (although it would need a bit more tweaking to adapt it into live action).

 

[Darthphere]

I think this is WB's problem with WW, more than Paradise Island. If WB can make a movie about a guy who wields a ring powered by willpower and imagination than an island inhabited by Amazons shouldn't be too much of an obstacle.

If that's the direction they want to go with but chances are, they will lean more toward a Diana Prince type story with Steve Trevor and all that. A straight up mythology based Wonder Woman probably wouldn't happen right off the bat. Wonder Woman has gone through so many changes, it's almost impossible to pick pin point what will sell to the public. Unlike a Batman whose changes have been somewhat cosmetic, he's always the man in the cape beating up bad guys. Wonder Woman will fight the Gods one issue and have problems using a credit card the next.

 

[dnno1]

I think this is WB's problem with WW, more than Paradise Island. If WB can make a movie about a guy who wields a ring powered by willpower and imagination than an island inhabited by Amazons shouldn't be too much of an obstacle.

Oh, it can be done and has been done before. It's just that they are hit and miss (more times miss) as far as box office success. That's more than likely why you won't see a Wonder Woman movie being made anytime soon.

 

[Octoberist]

then again, never say never.

who knew that Ryan Reynolds was going to get cast as Hal Jordan? Hmmm

 

[GL's Light]

then again, never say never.

who knew that Ryan Reynolds was going to get cast as Hal Jordan? Hmmm

And Green Lantern was stuck in development hell for a long, long time - including the whole Jack Black comedy version debacle. A film that's been stuck in development for a long time can get traction and finally make it into theaters, and there's really no telling when that might happen.

 

[dnno1]

then again, never say never.

who knew that Ryan Reynolds was going to get cast as Hal Jordan? Hmmm

I said "any time soon". That's not quite never. In my opinion, I think Wonder Woman might be more successful as a cable television series. If you look at shows like The L Word and Sex and the City, they enjoyed many years on cable before their series ended. Sex and the City eventually got a major motion picture, which did OK at the box office last year, and may have a sequel. That may be a good recipe for success for Wonder Woman.

 

[GL's Light]

If there was a new Wonder Woman TV series I think it would have a better shot on a broadcast network than on cable.

 

[dnno1]

And Green Lantern was stuck in development hell for a long, long time - including the whole Jack Black comedy version debacle. A film that's been stuck in development for a long time can get traction and finally make it into theaters, and there's really no telling when that might happen.

Since the completion of "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" or a little earlier maybe? That's still not as bad as the time between "Superman IV" and "Superman Returns".

 

[dnno1]

If there was a new Wonder Woman TV series I think it would have a better shot on a broadcast network than on cable.

If it were on cable, it wouldn't have the pressure of making ratings like network TV does. You also have the luxury of expanding into more adult themes (a la the Tudors or Rome) that you can't get away with on network TV.

 

[GL's Light]

Since the completion of "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" or a little earlier maybe? That's still not as bad as the time between "Superman IV" and "Superman Returns".

The Jack Black news hit, I believe, in summer 2004, and Green Lantern had been in development for a good few years prior to that. I think Joel Silver started developing it sometime in the 1990s. His option as producer eventually lapsed. I believe he doesn't have an option on Wonder Woman for too much longer, so the project might be revitalized if it passes to someone else in a year or two.

If it were on cable, it wouldn't have the pressure of making ratings like network TV does. You also have the luxury of expanding into more adult themes (a la the Tudors or Rome) that you can't get away with on network TV.

Yes, most cable shows are much edgier than shows on the broadcast networks, but that's exactly why a Wonder Woman series isn't suited to cable, or at least not to the cable outlets that could afford to finance a top notch WW series. A new WW series would hopefully be a lot more serious than the 1970s one (although I have a lot of fondness for the old show), but it would and should still be a show for a broad audience. Plus the broadcast networks have seen their ratings erode significantly, so, depending on which network it was on and which time slot it got, a WW series could have a good run on a broadcast network.

 

[Sub-Zero]

reynolds is a good choice for gl. i really doubt this will spark flash and ww solo movies. they might just be in jla only, and that is good enough. giving them their own movies might be a waste of money for wb.

 

[Octoberist]

no, i think the Flash and Wonder Woman would work fine as solo movies

 

[mclay18]

I think Katherine Bigalow (Point Break, The Hurt Locker) could direct Wonder Woman. She's been getting a lot of praise for the Hurt Locker and I think woman should do it.

That's a terrific suggestion. The thing is, though I don't think she'd be interested in doing something like WW -- especially since its chequered history and the problems of adapting it to something to her tastes but also accessible to mainstream audiences. And I don't think she'd get along with Joel Silver, if he's still attached as producer.

 

[That-Guy]

Whoa, I didn't know the director of The Hurt Locker was also the director of Point Break.

Talk about the yin and the yang of directing ability...

 

[Jake Cassidy]

Whoa, I didn't know the director of The Hurt Locker was also the director of Point Break.

Talk about the yin and the yang of directing ability...

Point Break is awesome!!!!! t:

Bigelow also did 'Near Dark' and 'Strange Days'.

 

[Webhead2006]

i think both flash and ww could be great film series if they can ever get off the ground and are treated seriously.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

Bigelow would be good for the Flash. She seems to enjoy male protagonist over female stories.

 

[BlackLantern]

I think this is WB's problem with WW, more than Paradise Island. If WB can make a movie about a guy who wields a ring powered by willpower and imagination than an island inhabited by Amazons shouldn't be too much of an obstacle.

It's less about the effects and more about the movie going audience accepting Wonder Woman as a viable movie franchise

 

[Keyser Soze]

reynolds is a good choice for gl. i really doubt this will spark flash and ww solo movies. they might just be in jla only, and that is good enough. giving them their own movies might be a waste of money for wb.

I think Wonder Woman and The Flash could work in solo movies. Yeah, it might be best leaving Aquaman and Martian Manhunter to a JLA movie, but I'd like to see all of the Big Five get their own film incarnation.