Green Lantern is a 2011 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett and Tim Robbins, with Martin Campbell directing a script by Greg Berlanti and comic book writers Michael Green and Marc Guggenheim, which was subsequently rewritten by Michael Goldenberg.[2] The film tells the story of Hal Jordan, a test pilot who is selected to become the first human member of the Green Lantern Corps. Hal is given a ring that grants him superpowers, and must confront Parallax, who threatens to upset the balance of power in the universe.
Plot[]
Billions of years ago, beings called the Guardians of the Universe used the green essence of willpower to create an intergalactic police force called the Green Lantern Corps. They divided the universe into 3600 sectors, with one Green Lantern per sector. One such Green Lantern, Abin Sur of Sector 2814, defeated the malevolent being Parallax and imprisoned him in the Lost Sector on the desolate planet Ryut. In the present day, Parallax escapes from his prison after becoming strengthened by an encounter with crash survivors who had accidentally fallen into the dugout where Parallax was imprisoned on the abandoned planet. Parallax feeds on their fear to gain strength before pursuing and nearly killing Abin Sur, who escapes and crash-lands on Earth where he commands his power ring to find a worthy successor.
Hal Jordan, a cocky test pilot working at Ferris Aircraft, is chosen by the ring and transported to the crash site, where the dying Abin Sur appoints him a Green Lantern, telling him to take the lantern and speak the oath. Jordan says the oath and is whisked away to the Green Lantern Corps home planet of Oa, where he meets and trains with veteran Corps members Tomar-Re, Kilowog, and Corps leader Sinestro, who believes he is unfit and fearful. Jordan, disheartened by his extreme training sessions and Sinestro's doubts, quits and returns to Earth, keeping the power ring and lantern.
Scientist Hector Hammond is summoned by his father, Senator Robert Hammond, to a secret government facility to perform an autopsy on Abin Sur's body under the watchful eye of Amanda Waller. A piece of Parallax inside the corpse enters Hammond, giving him telepathic and telekinetic powers at the cost of his sanity. After discovering that he was chosen for the secret work only due to his father's influence and not for his own abilities, Hammond attempts to kill his father by telekinetically sabotaging his helicopter at a massive party. Jordan saves the senator and the party guests, including his childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris. Later, at the government facility, Hammond uses telekenisis to successfully kill his father by burning him alive. Hammond also elevates Waller high above the floor. As she's falling, Jordan arrives and saves the injured Waller by creating a pool of water which whisks her away out of further danger. During the encounter Jordan learns of Parallax coming to Earth.
On Oa, the Guardians tell Sinestro that Parallax was one of their own until he desired to control the yellow essence of fear, only to become corrupted. Arguing that the way to fight fear is with fear itself, Sinestro requests that the Guardians forge a ring of the same yellow power, preparing to concede Earth's destruction to Parallax in order to protect Oa. Jordan appears and tries to convince the Guardians that fear will turn the users evil if its power is used, but they reject his pleas, and he returns to Earth to try to defeat Parallax on his own.
Jordan saves Ferris from Hammond after a brief showdown. Parallax arrives, consumes Hammond's entire life force, and then wreaks havoc on Coast City. After a fierce battle, Jordan lures Parallax away from Earth and toward the sun. Parallax is inadvertently caught in the sun's gravitational pull and is destroyed, while Jordan escapes. Jordan loses consciousness after the battle and falls toward the sun, but is saved by Sinestro, Kilowog, and Tomar-Re.
The entire Green Lantern Corps congratulates Jordan for his bravery. Sinestro tells Jordan he now bears the responsibility of protecting his sector as a Green Lantern.
In a mid-credits scene, Sinestro takes the yellow ring and places it on his finger, causing his green suit and eyes to turn yellow.
Cast[]
- Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern
- Gattlin Griffith as Young Hal Jordan
- Blake Lively as Carol Ferris
- Jenna Craig as Young Carol Ferris
- Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond
- Kennon Kepper as Young Hector Hammond
- Mark Strong as Thaal Sinestro
- Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller
- Tim Robbins as Senator Robert Hammond
- Temuera Morrison as Abin Sur
- Taika Waititi as Thomas Kalmaku
- Geoffrey Rush as Tomar-Re
- Michael Clarke Duncan as Kilowog
- Clancy Brown as Krona/Parallax
- Jay O. Sanders as Carl Ferris
- Marcela Duarte as Beautiful Girl
- Jon Tenney as Martin Jordan
- Mike Doyle as Jack Jordan
- Nick Jandl as Jim Jordan
- Dylan James as Jason Jordan
- Leanne Cochran as Janice Jordan
- Amy Carlson as Jessica Jordan
- Ric Reitz as the President of the United States
- Paul Parducci as G'Hu
- Warren Burton as Ganthet
- Salome Jens as Sayd
Future[]
Cancelled Reboot[]
Main article: Green Lantern Corps
In June 2013, David S. Goyer confirmed that Man of Steel is the first film in the DC Extended Universe. This confirmed that should the Green Lantern property be featured in an upcoming DC film, it will be a rebooted version. Later that year Goyer stated that he had interest in making a new feature film based on the titular character.
In July 2015, Warner Bros. announced plans to release a solo Green Lantern film titled Green Lantern Corps, with an original release date scheduled for June 19, 2020. The film will be an installment in the DC Extended Universe. Hal Jordan and John Stewart will reportedly be the Green Lanterns focused on in the film.
In January 2016, it was reported that Goyer and Justin Rhodes will be writing the film's script and will also produce the film, with Geoff Johns and Jon Berg as executive producers. In November 2019, Johns was expected to deliver his script to Warner Bros. by the end of the year.
In March 2021, after the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, the director's cut of Justice League, Zack Snyder revealed that a scrapped idea for the film had Batman meeting up with the Green Lantern Corps, with Ryan Reynolds appearing as an "additional lantern... to fill out the corps a bit." Snyder never spoke with Reynolds about this, however.
Television Series[]
A 10 one-hour episodic Green Lantern television series separate from the film is currently in development for HBO Max from Marc Guggenheim and Seth Grahame-Smith with Berlanti Productions producing the series. The series will focus on the Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, and Alan Scott versions of Green Lantern alongside Sinestro and Kilowog. The series' title was revealed to be Lanterns in January 2023. The version with Berlanti was confirmed to have been cancelled, with this new series focusing on Hal Jordan and John Stewart as part of DC Studios' new shared universe.
Arrowverse[]
The Arrowverse crossover event "Crisis on Infinite Earths" establishes that the 2011 film version of Green Lantern takes place on the world of Earth-12.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
| Green Lantern |
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| Green Lantern (2011), Green Lantern Corps |