SPOILER/RUMOR ALERT: This article contains information that is STRICTLY RUMOR, but may prove to be SPOILERS for ‘Green Lantern Corps’ so grab your grain of salt and proceed with caution.
A major rumor has surfaced that is quite a head-scratcher. It appears that none other than Tom Cruise is the frontrunner to star in Warner Brothers’ ‘Green Lantern Corps’ film! You may recall that Cruise was in the running to play ‘Iron Man’ years ago, which never came to fruition. But now it appears that Maverick is getting a second chance at playing a comic book champion. He’s also getting a second chance to play in a shared universe, after the failure of his 2017 film ‘The Mummy’ which was expected to kick off Universal’s Dark Universe franchise, which would have included numerous monster movies like ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ and ‘The Wolfman’.
‘Green Lantern Corps’ was included when Warner Brothers first announced plans for an expansive DC Universe of movies, but it was one of the farthest out. It was believed that this was in order to put as much space between it and 2011’s failure ‘Green Lantern’ starring Ryan Reynolds. There hadn’t been much discussion about it, other than ‘GLC’ was going to be a “buddy cop” movie, like ‘Lethal Weapon’ in space, with Hal Jordan serving as the older, wearier operative, and John Stewart being his younger, brasher apprentice. At 56, Cruise is… certainly older. Plus, we all know he can play a fighter pilot.
Reportedly, Cruise had one demand about taking the role, and that’s where things get kind of SPOILER-Y.
Last chance to turn back.
Okay, so Cruise had one demand about taking the role of Hal Jordan. In the script, his character dies! Apparently, this movie would have followed the trope of a protegée butting heads with his uptight mentor, only for the mentor to inspire him and in his final act of heroism, give his life, inspiring the younger recruit to become the champion he was meant to be.
As for Cruise’s casting, his ‘Mission: Impossible’ and ‘Jack Reacher’ director Christopher McQuarrie has reportedly been negotiating to helm ‘GLC’, so that could be another positive indication that Cruise is legitimately in the running.
Even though it seems that a lot has changed when it comes to Warner Brothers and their DC movies, Cruise being considered falls in line with their old way of thinking. Unlike Marvel, who takes moderately popular actors and turns them into legit stars, WB seemed to bank on casting huge megastars (and paying them megabucks), under the impression that the likes of Ben Affleck and Will Smith would draw audiences. And that may be true overseas, but in the U.S., audiences aren’t that impressed with stars.
On the other hand, while Cruise’s films can be hit or miss, his current entry, ‘Mission: Impossible — Fallout’ is a certified hit. Its opening was the best of that franchise and it’s gotten great reviews and audiences love it. He just needs the right vehicle and could that be ‘Green Lantern Corps’?
Stay tuned for updates!
Source: Crazy Days and Nights
