The wild rumors and speculation are finally over: Ryan Reynolds (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) will play the title role in the upcoming live-action comic-to-movie adaptation from DC Comics and Warner Bros., Green Lantern.
According to Variety, Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) and Jared Leto (Fight Club) were under option to play Green Lantern as well, but only Reynolds' option was extended, effectively making him the "last man standing" in the casting selection process. Other actors recently rumored to have been up for the role include Justin Timberlake (Alpha Dog) and Nathan Fillion (Serenity), who was recently the subject of a popular fan-made Green Lantern trailer that used his likeness.
One of the most popular characters in DC Comics' pantheon of heroes -- but not very well known to non-comic book fans -- Green Lantern is Hal Jordan, a fearless test pilot who receives a ring of unimaginable power from a dying alien member of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic peace-keeping force. When donned, the ring becomes an extension of Jordan's will, manifesting green constructs of whatever he can imagine. To raise awareness of the character, DC Comics recently released the Green Lantern: First Flight animated feature.
Reynolds is not a stranger to comic book adaptations. He has played two characters from Marvel Comics -- vampire hunter Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity and, more recently, Wade Wilson/Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine -- and was often rumored to be interested in playing Wally West/The Flash, another DC Comics character and the teammate of Green Lantern in the Justice League of America.
There is no word how, if at all, Reynolds being cast as Green Lantern will affect the proposed X-Men Origins: Wolverine spin-off film about Deadpool that Fox is supposedly developing for him.