Director Blames Ryan Reynolds’s ‘Green Lantern’ Flop on Cut Ending Due to Budget Constraints

According to the film’s director, ‘Green Lantern’s original ending was trimmed owing to financial limitations, which contributed to the movie’s failure.

Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, a test pilot selected to join the cosmic Green Lantern Corps, in the 2011 superhero film.  Tim Robbins, Angela Bassett, Mark Strong, Blake Lively, and Peter Sarsgaard were also part of the cast.

 The movie did poorly, making $237 million on a $200 million budget despite having a well-known cast.  Warner Bros. abandoned plans for it to launch the DC Extended Universe due to its unsatisfactory reception; ‘Man of Steel’ eventually launched the DC Extended Universe in 2013.

In a recent interview with Variety, director Martin Campbell, who has directed James Bond movies like ‘GoldenEye’ and ‘Casino Royale’, discussed the film’s difficulties.  He disclosed that the original conclusion he had in mind was chopped to save money, and he feels that this choice had a detrimental effect on the movie.

Image Courtesy: IMDb

 Although he acknowledged that there were problems with the plot, Campbell accepted responsibility for the film’s flaws.  He acknowledged that his lack of a strong connection to the superhero genre made directing ‘Green Lantern’ difficult.  Looking back, he said he believed he lacked the passion for the material needed to make a superhero movie.

Campbell previously discussed the film’s failure in 2021, acknowledging that he was partially to blame for the film’s failure. Meanwhile, ‘Green Lantern’ will get a new beginning with HBO’s upcoming series ‘Lanterns’, which stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, and Kelly Macdonald and is produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television. The show has not yet been given an official release date.

–Farheen Ali