Justice League Re-cast Hal Jordan for JL movie? Yay or Nay? - Part 1

[Harry Dresden]

The only benefit in using John Stewart is diversity. He's a character that DC clearly doesn't care about, and he was included in the JL animated series because of his race. He's a token character that plays second fiddle to the real Green Lantern.

I don't want ANY token characters in the new DC movie universe. If they want diversity, change Hal Jordan into a black man.

So many things wrong with this post.

 

[Rorschach2012]

You NEED Hal Jordan. He is the most important character in the mythos. The central character.

You can use John Stewart for a JL movie, but they'd be severely limiting their story potential of a solo movie by using John. Or they could make him John in name only, and he could be an amalgamation of Hal and John. That could definitely work but a LOT of people would be pissed.
I could see them going that route.

John Stewart as-is isn't a compelling enough character to base his own film series on. He works fine in a Justice League scenario where he's a supporting character, but as a lead, his story doesn't nearly compare to Hal Jordan's.

The thread topic pertains to Green Lantern in a Justice League film, so I guess I really don't care too much which Green Lantern is in Justice League. Hal or John would both work. But as far as a Green Lantern solo franchise goes, John can't be the lead character. Hal has to be involved in some capacity. I've always been an advocate of John and Hal both being the leads in a GL franchise, that's actually a pretty ideal scenario. If WB reboots the GL solo franchise, they need to emphasize the "Corps" aspect more. None of the other GL's had much of a personality.

 

[regwec]

I'm not sure why Hal Jordan is "needed". He isn't the original Lantern, nor is he very likeable or interesting. His personality is that he is annoying and he has a power ring. He has been played by Ryan Reynolds.

I know that Hal has his fans, but I don't think that is sufficient reason to have him continue to muscle out other, better Lanterns.

 

[The Endless]

I agree with regwec. Hal is pretty lame in my opinion. What actually makes him more compelling than the other Lanterns besides him being the first one (and even then he isn't really)? The most interesting thing that ever happened to him was retconned away. And after the film he's poison.

John Stewart may have been a "token" character. But then you write him well and make him more than that.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

I don't want John to be absent because he's merely a token character. It's because I just think he's boring.

Kyle or Alan is the way to go. Less continuity burdened, and Alan could actually thoroughly rework the idea.

But in that case I'd also want Wally or Jay as the Flash to go with them.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Saying John doesn't have story potential is a bit ridiculous. He has his relationship with Katma Tui, Fatality, Guy Gardner, the destruction of Xanshi, etc.

There are advantages and disadvantages to using each of the Green Lanterns but they all have potential so I think it's a bit unfair to rule everyone besides Hal out for solo films. The only GL I can really understand not being able to hold his own film would probably be Guy Gardner or Simon Baz since he hasn't been around for that long.

 

[Lantern Venom]

I'm not sure why Hal Jordan is "needed". He isn't the original Lantern, nor is he very likeable or interesting. His personality is that he is annoying and he has a power ring. He has been played by Ryan Reynolds.

I know that Hal has his fans, but I don't think that is sufficient reason to have him continue to muscle out other, better Lanterns.

I agree with regwec. Hal is pretty lame in my opinion. What actually makes him more compelling than the other Lanterns besides him being the first one (and even then he isn't really)? The most interesting thing that ever happened to him was retconned away. And after the film he's poison.

John Stewart may have been a "token" character. But then you write him well and make him more than that.

Other than being the most well-known Lantern--by far--Hal anchors the origins for Kyle, John, and Guy. It makes me nervous that one of them would be introduced to the public with so little history outside of print, but it makes me even more wary to have Warner Bumbles re-writing their origins.

 

[The Endless]

How is Hal the most well known Lantern? When Reynolds was cast all i ever saw outside of comic book forums was "Isn't GL a black guy?"

Superfriends was a long, long time ago.

And how well known they are is irrelevant anyway.

 

[Lantern Venom]

How is Hal the most well known Lantern? When Reynolds was cast all i ever saw outside of comic book forums was "Isn't GL a black guy?"

Superfriends was a long, long time ago.

And how well known they are is irrelevant anyway.

Check out Green Lantern "in other media" on Wikipedia. I'm not going to list all of them because it would take too long. Compare Hal to the other Lanterns and you'll see that 9 times out of 10, Green Lantern = Hal Jordan. It goes far beyond SuperFriends as well.

Moreover, one of the things the JL kids' toon did poorly was to never show John getting his ring or why his personality was essential to him being GL and part of the JLA.

 

[brainchild81]

If 9/10 doesn't have an impact and 1/10 does. The 9/10 obviously wasn't worth much. The fact that this topic keeps coming up means the 9/10 didn't mean anything. Otherwise, Hal wouldn't be getting his ass handed to him in polls. People wouldn't have been asking why they turned GL white. People wouldn't be calling for John &Hal would mean something to the GA. 1/10 got more positive attention than anything Hal's ever been involved with.

The show got people all over the world to care about John. They accomplished more in a few years w/John than they've ever done w/Hal in over half a century.

I'll blame DC for the problem with Mosaic, but right now I'm questioning all of the fans who aren't buying the non-main GL titles. I know Geoff Johns' run was great, but too many people have given up on the titles. Each of the 4 main Lanterns have their own book right now, and I'd like for it to stay that way.

You yourself have already stated that they aren't really trying to raise John's profile. If JHF hadn't made noise when he quit, John'd be dead right now. As others here have said, DC doesn't seem to care about him. Regardless of sales, history shows on multiple occasions that DC isn't interested in pushing John as far as he can go. What motivation is there to buy the books when the folks running things don't give a damn about him &could decide to off him for nothing at any time?

I'm not sure why Hal Jordan is "needed". He isn't the original Lantern, nor is he very likeable or interesting. His personality is that he is annoying and he has a power ring. He has been played by Ryan Reynolds.

I know that Hal has his fans, but I don't think that is sufficient reason to have him continue to muscle out other, better Lanterns.

I agree with regwec. Hal is pretty lame in my opinion. What actually makes him more compelling than the other Lanterns besides him being the first one (and even then he isn't really)? The most interesting thing that ever happened to him was retconned away. And after the film he's poison.

John Stewart may have been a "token" character. But then you write him well and make him more than that.

Ditto. Hal's either boring as hell or an ******* in most of the stuff I've seen him in. Changing him from annoying, silly looking white guy to annoying, silly looking black guy won't solve anything. Hal's been around for over 50 years & DC's pushed him harder & much more than any other Lantern. The GL brand still isn't iconic w/the GA. They've obviously been leading w/the wrong guy. Hal is the exact opposite of "needed". Hal's fanbase is too small to mean anything. Many of them *****ed & moaned when John was used in JL, but they were in the minority &they always will be. If things continue the way they are, Hal'll still be a nobody to the GA 50 years from now and the GL brand will never reach it's potential. It's obvious the current strategy isn't working. It could be argued that John was the star of JL. You won't achieve this kind of greatness w/Hal. http://fanbros.com/john-stewart-real-star-justice-league-editorial/

 

[Lantern Venom]

If 9/10 doesn't have an impact and 1/10 does. The 9/10 obviously wasn't worth much. The fact that this topic keeps coming up means the 9/10 didn't mean anything. Otherwise, Hal wouldn't be getting his ass handed to him in polls. People wouldn't have been asking why they turned GL white.l/
[/URL]

The fact that people keep debating this only means that GL is an integral part of of DC's history and the JLA I've seen the *real* poll. These are people who have spent their lives as DC/GL fans. These are people who have backed GL with their money.

http://www.thegreenlanterncorps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33

People who ask the question "why did they turn Green Lantern white?" are completely oblivious. Obviously, they don't read comics or buy DVDs. That means they don't care enough to spend the money to perpetuate the character. They aren't really John Stewart fans, either. If they were, they would at least have the curiosity to look up John's actual history--a groundbreaking one, that deserves respect--and not ask silly things like that. Comic book John Stewart > JL 'toon John Stewart. I'm guessing those same people are wandering around with wide eyes and scratching their heads over Wally West being displaced by his more famous forerunner in the new Flash series.

JL/JLU was a nice addition to the JL mythos. What it lacked in visuals (the animation was poor, particularly the anatomical designs) it made up for with some decent, although not great, storytelling. Yet it was only one small sliver of JL history. People demanding that that the JL movie mirror the JL/JLU 'toon would be no different than me expecting Apache Chief and Golden Pharaoh to become part of WB's live-action universe.

 

[The Endless]

The people who are completely oblivious and who don't read comics are more important than you or me.

They are the ones who put the money down. They are the ones who helped Iron Man, a former B-Lister at best, gross 1.2 billion dollars at the box office. (the Iron Man trilogy actually outgrosses the TDK trilogy, just think about that for a second. Name recognition and knowledge of the comics doesn't mean ****)

People like us are unimportant when it comes to the movies. We make up about 1% of the target audience.

Fact is, Hal Jordan has been pushed by DC for years. Still, no one outside of Hal Jordan fans give a **** about him.

John on the other hand, was really popular on the cartoons. And the fact that non comic readers were like "Why did they change GL to a white guy" speaks volumes.

If the Green Lantern movie was about John Stewart instead of Hal Jordan, it may have fared better at the box office. Obviously making a good film would have helped.

 

[Lantern Venom]

The people who are completely oblivious and who don't read comics are more important than you or me.

They are the ones who put the money down. They are the ones who helped Iron Man, a former B-Lister at best, gross 1.2 billion dollars at the box office. (the Iron Man trilogy actually outgrosses the TDK trilogy, just think about that for a second. Name recognition and knowledge of the comics doesn't mean ****)

People like us are unimportant when it comes to the movies. We make up about 1% of the target audience.

Fact is, Hal Jordan has been pushed by DC for years. Still, no one outside of Hal Jordan fans give a **** about him.

John on the other hand, was really popular on the cartoons. And the fact that non comic readers were like "Why did they change GL to a white guy" speaks volumes.

If the Green Lantern movie was about John Stewart instead of Hal Jordan, it may have fared better at the box office. Obviously making a good film would have helped.

I disagree with just about all of this post, but most vehemently with the part about comic fans being of no consequence. It's really sad that so many comic book fans hold such a low opinion of the group of which they are a part. Comic movies don't even make it past the proposal stage without a strong buzz from hardcore fans.

 

[agentorange]

As long as Ryan Reynolds never plays Green Lantern again i'm cool with whatever.

 

[Silliminite]

Hal Jordan needs to be recast. If Ryan Reynolds is to appear as Hal again in the JL film,
it'll mean the GL movie is part of the DCCU, and I don't think WB will wanna give that impression.

 

[Silliminite]

Although, to be honest, I don't think GL was that bad, but it would just make way more sense for MoS to be the DCCU's first installment. And, you know, MoS was fantastic.

 

[regwec]

An even more effective way of separating the new movie DCU from the GL movie would be to include a better GL than Hal, such as any of them.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

You funny.

 

[brainchild81]

I disagree with just about all of this post, but most vehemently with the part about comic fans being of no consequence. It's really sad that so many comic book fans hold such a low opinion of the group of which they are a part. Comic movies don't even make it past the proposal stage without a strong buzz from hardcore fans. That's how Spawn, one of the hottest comics in the '90s, made it to the big screen before so many Marvel and DC properties. That's also how Walking Dead made it to AMC. Yes, studios want the GA sheeple to lay down their money before they go back to getting drunk and watching Honey Boo Boo, but they desperately want the passionate fans who will buy the expensive tie-in products. It isn't the casual movie goer who drops $500 on a Hot Toys Figure.

It's not about having a low opinion of comic fans. It's about having an opinion of our impact on a comic book movie's box office that's based in reality. When they want your money, they make a comic. When they want the GA's, they make a big budget film. Your money is pretty much a sure thing already. I'm sure they appreciate it when you buy the Hot Toys Figure, but they're more concerned w/a big box office haul & that can only happen w/GA support. Do you really think that when Hal's movie crashed & burned, somebody at WB was like "Don't worry. We'll make all our money back & then some. The passionate fans will buy the expensive tie-in products. Victory is ours!!!" ?

As far as those JL/JLU fans, they are in for a rude awakening if they buy a JL movie ticket and expect an exact live-action replica of what they saw when they were kids watching the 'toon. If they are so clueless that they don't know there is more than one GL (meaning they never watched JL: Doom, New Frontier, Flashpoint, War), then they're going to be completely lost when Cyborg shows up instead of Hawkgirl. They obviously didn't spend money or time on the mythos, they watched one version on TV

By now, they know there's at least 2 GLs. There's the cool one that they enjoyed so much from JL/JLU & there's the lameass silly looking one w/the movie that flopped so hard. They know, but knowing that Hal exists and giving a damn about him are two very different things

 

[Lantern Venom]

Poor Ryan....despite the critics saying that he did well in his role, his latest movie is getting slaughtered.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_captive_2014/reviews/

 

[Micromind]

Poor Ryan....despite the critics saying that he did well in his role, his latest movie is getting slaughtered.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_captive_2014/reviews/

I don't think Fox wants him for Deadpool anymore, it would be both sad and funny if they make a deadpool movie but cast someone else.

 

[Lantern Venom]

I don't think Fox wants him for Deadpool anymore, it would be both sad and funny if they make a deadpool movie but cast someone else.

After RIPD, Reynolds might not want a comic book role any more, either. He seems to be making contradictory statements about whether he wants to be GL or Deadpool again.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I'm going to say yes to that
Cast a new actor to play Hal Jordan, just to separate it from the 2011 movie

 

[The Guard]

I disagree with just about all of this post, but most vehemently with the part about comic fans being of no consequence. It's really sad that so many comic book fans hold such a low opinion of the group of which they are a part. Comic movies don't even make it past the proposal stage without a strong buzz from hardcore fans. That's how Spawn, one of the hottest comics in the '90s, made it to the big screen before so many Marvel and DC properties. That's also how Walking Dead made it to AMC.

Sigh...no.

The "buzz" has next to nothing to do with comic book movies getting made.

SPAWN got made because it was "one of the hottest comics in the 90's", had a successful animated series, and because someone wanted it to get made. It was an edgy, "dark" concept, and that was huge around the time it went into production. And more to the point, it was not seen as the typical comic book/ superhero fare, which studios were still kind of iffy on at the time.

Fan buzz had very little to do with those projects solidifying.

 

[Lantern Venom]

Sigh...no.

The "buzz" has next to nothing to do with comic book movies getting made.

SPAWN got made because it was "one of the hottest comics in the 90's", had a successful animated series, and because someone wanted it to get made. It was an edgy, "dark" concept, and that was huge around the time it went into production. And more to the point, it was not seen as the typical comic book/ superhero fare, which studios were still kind of iffy on at the time.

Fan buzz had very little to do with those projects solidifying.

So why don't we often see movies about lesser-known and obscure characters? It simply doesn't make sense that a studio exec would pick a character based on his/her opinion of the character and go forward without knowing that character's current popularity among fans. That's why we don't get adaptations of characters like Haunt, Wild Dog, or Savage Dragon.

Green Lantern and Flash owe their live-action adaptations to the recent groundswell of support during the Geoff Johns era. Comic shops were selling out of their books and ordering second printings. Conventions were offering expensive limited edition figures and selling out. That's how movie studios become aware of a character--they hear that money is being made.