Justice League: Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern In Snyder Cut Rumors Explained
Ryan Reynolds is rumored to appear as Green Lantern in the upcoming Justice League Snyder Cut, but could there be any truth to these rumors? After its official announcement back in May, the Snyder Cut has been the subject of an unending stream of anticipation, speculation, and fan theories. Still, however out of the ordinary the Snyder Cut's realization has been, the entry of Ryan Reynolds into the equation is an element that few would ever have expected to happen.
Having previously portrayed Hal Jordan in 2011's Green Lantern, Reynolds seemingly had left the DC Universe behind with his involvement in Fox's Deadpool movies. Those would represent their own second chance for Reynolds' portrayal of The Merc with a Mouth after Wade Wilson's widely panned big-screen debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009. With the massive success of both Deadpool movies, there was little reason to think that a return as Green Lantern was in Reynolds' future.
Still, if there's been any lesson to come out of the tale of the Snyder Cut, it's to expect the unexpected. While it may have once seemed to like the door was forever locked on the possibility of Reynolds portraying Hal Jordan again, the same was once true for the Snyder Cut itself. Here is the rundown of how the possibility of Ryan Reynolds making a Green Lantern return in the Snyder Cut began, and the role that both Reynolds and Snyder themselves have played in it.
The theatrical cut of Justice League would make a single reference to the Green Lantern Corps existing in the DCEU with the appearance of Yalan Gur in the history lesson, his Power Ring flying off to seek out a new candidate after he is killed by Steppenwolf. Otherwise, Green Lantern's only connection to Justice League would be heard in the "No Lanterns here. No Lanterns." line in the San Diego Comic-Con trailer that was cut from the theatrical version, later confirmed by Snyder to be Steppenwolf speaking to Desaad. However, rumors of Green Lantern's presence in the Snyder Cut would later emerge as one of Snyder's many teases of the movie.
Snyder's would include the Green Lantern emblem alongside those of the other members of the League on a T-shirt and hoodie for Zack Snyder's Justice League released through Ink to the People. With Green Lantern not presently in the Snyder Cut, this would heavily point to Snyder's goal to work him into the film in the additional filming he has also teased, like he plans to do for Martian Manhunter (whose emblem is also on the hoodie) Naturally, that opens a whole other Pandora's Box of who would play Green Lantern, and whether it would be Hal Jordan, John Stewart, a different Green Lantern, or even multiple human Lanterns. Snyder was asked about his plans for Green Lantern during his appearance at the fan-run Justice Con in late July but naturally dodged the question. This is also the point where Ryan Reynolds' name would enter the conversation.
Reynolds is well-known for his prior portrayal of Hal Jordan in 2011's aforementioned Green Lantern movie. Unfortunately, the film was subject to an all-around terrible reception and was a major box-office failure. Since then, Reynolds has been quite vocal about his own dissatisfaction with the finished product, with Deadpool killing a smiling Reynolds holding the Green Lantern script in the ending of Deadpool 2.
Since Snyder's teasing of Green Lantern in the Snyder Cut, Reynolds' name has been mentioned as a potential candidate to appear as Hal Jordan in the movie, akin to his second chance at Deadpool. Screen Rant editors even discussed early rumors of Reynolds hypothetically returning on the Total Geekall podcast. Of course, mere rumors of Reynolds returning could easily be dismissed as nothing more substantial than simple internet chatter or wishful fanboy thinking, especially considering how poorly Reynolds' first time in the role went. However, the possibility of it has to be examined through a different lens, given that Reynolds himself has begun dropping teases of his own.
Reynolds' first real entry point into the hemisphere of the Snyder Cut came during his appearance at CCXP in Sao Paulo, Brazil in December of 2019 to promote the Netflix action movie 6 Underground. During the panel, Reynolds capped offed his plot summary of the movie with the comment "Which I guess what I'm trying to say is this is the Snyder Cut", before remarking that "I'm on the wrong panel," amid the cheers of the audience. At the time, it would have been easier to attribute Reynolds' comment as a one-liner playing off of the social media frenzy of Justice League's two-year anniversary that had taken place just weeks earlier, but he wouldn't stop there.
Most recently, Reynolds directly addressed rumors of his return as Green Lantern in Zack Snyder's Justice League on social media, saying that he'd love to take part in it while also stating "I've heard I may already be in it?" and including the #SnyderCut hashtag. Reynolds would take it a step further that same day with his release of a 27-second long "Reynolds Cut" of Green Lantern. Between Snyder's teases of a Green Lantern in the Snyder Cut and Reynolds' nudge-nudge wink-wink acknowledgment of the rumors relating to his involvement, so is this an actual tease, or is Reynolds simply playing another joke on the internet?
With Snyder teasing the addition of a Green Lantern and Reynolds fanning the flames in the run-up to DC FanDome, which is set to feature a number of major announcements, including a Snyder Cut trailer, the notion of Reynolds suiting back up in green again is back in discussion. Objectively speaking, this seems like a major long shot and way out of left field, as it's not only double-dipping into a much-derided Green Lantern movie, but there's also the fact that Reynolds would need to complete additional photography to be added into Zack Snyder's Justice League (the vast majority of which was already shot), and the coronavirus pandemic is making it hard for any Hollywood productions to get time in front of a camera.
While any newly-implemented appearance by Green Lantern is likely to be a minor one and more of a cameo nature, that in itself would still be a huge addition to the Snyder Cut with the multitude of possibilities it would bring with it. If the rumored Hal Jordan appearance ends up happening, the failure of the Green Lantern film and Reynolds' open disdain for it ensures that he would be playing a new version of the character for the film, and that brings with it another possibility. Specifically, if Reynolds were to embody a somewhat older take on Jordan who was already a veteran of the Green Lantern Corps, this heavily points to the wait not being long for John Stewart's arrival, as well. Stewart is arguably just as, if not more popular than Hal Jordan with some sections of the audience, but his introduction would require the existence of a Hal Jordan first, meaning a veteran Hal (possibly played by Reynolds) would be one smart way to truncate the backstory needed to introduce John Stewart.
For a superhero movie to go from a box office letdown to quite possibly the hottest IP of its release platform as Justice League has by way of the Snyder Cut is obviously one for the history books. Adding to that, the rumors of Ryan Reynolds carrying a Power Ring in the film once more is proof positive of the potential for DC's big and small-screen future, which might now even include The Flash movie possibly featuring Michael Keaton returning as Batman, have been thrown open. As with most rumors, it'd be wise to stay skeptical on Reynolds for now, but considering the Snyder Cut of Justice League itself was deemed an impossibility just a few months ago, it seems like one should never say never when it comes to a Zack Snyder movie.