Whether we want it or not, a Green Lantern sequel is happening.
But it sounds like there may be a ray of hope for the film.
“We had a decent opening so we learned there is an audience. To go forward we need to make it a little edgier and darker with more emphasis on action. … And we have to find a way to balance the time the movie spends in space versus on Earth,” Warner Brothers Jeff Robinov tells the LA Times.
While the first film hasn’t exactly lit up the box-office domestically, it could make back enough money world wide to justify a sequel. And given that Warners is looking to establish a new DC franchise in what could be a lead-up to the Justice League movie, there could be a lot riding on the sequel.
This news makes me feel OK about the studio’s faith in the project.
This first film was extremely unfocused, but held together (if only loosely). Not bad, but not awesome. Well, not even good… They already see the need to narrow the focus, so that’s a step in the right direction.
I’ll wait for the trailer.
One thing that must be addressed is how the cast of characters are written which is one HUGE reason why the Marvel movies work so well. Not only are they well cast, but whoever does the writing for each of them gives us characters that we can become interested in, whether they are good or bad.
Warners did a terrible job when it came to the writing (Too many people involved maybe?) of the characters for Green Lantern. Not only did they get much of the characterizations wrong, but what was there was enough to really turn me off and just simply not care, and if I don’t care about the characters then any action they may be in will be meaningless to me.
I think the biggest difference between the characters of the Marvel Universe and those of the DC Universe is how those characters live in their respective worlds.
For me, it feels like the Marvel characters really live in their worlds, experiencing the pain and the pleasure of real life as well as the added responsibilities of their powers and their superhero lives. Most of the DC characters seem to just play in their worlds most of the time… that’s why Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns was such a watershed when it came out, and sort of got a new ball rolling for the DC Universe. It never got me to adore and live and breathe DC characters like I always had and always will for Marvel characters, but I had a new appreciation for what Batman could truly be, and perhaps a little love for Green Arrow, too.
How much of that is because of Stan Lee’s influence on creating most of the iconic Marvel characters — taking on the social and societal pressures that regular people who are just different might face — is something that can be debated until the end of time 🙂
I could probably write an essay on this difference, and why it was likely the focal point of fracture / failure in the fiasco that resulted when Bryan Singer left X-Men 3 to do Superman Returns… and probably why both movies failed to meet expectations. My great disappointment in X-Men 3 also led me to have a greater appreciation for X-Men First Class, because of how well done it was, and that was primarily because of the characters.