Warner Bros. To Pursue ‘Green Lantern’ Sequel
1:23 PM 6/26/2011 by Pamela McClintock

The studio won't walk away from the superhero franchise, despite the film’s soft box office performance.

Warner Bros. is already planning a sequel to Ryan Reynolds' superhero pic Green Lantern, despite the film’s soft performance at the box office. Sources say Warners still believes in the franchise, even if the studio is “somewhat disappointed” with Green Lantern’s result. Over the weekend, Green Lantern fell a steep 66% at the domestic box office, grossing $18.4 million for a cume of $89.3 million. That’s a big decline. Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman said the movie is settling in, pointing out that fanboy pics often see a significant drop-off in their second weekends. Still, Green Lantern fell off more than recent superhero pics Thor and X-Men: First Class. Thor dropped 47% in its second weekend, while First Class dropped 56%. Similar films that have seen the same sort of dip that Green Lantern did include Hulk, which dropped nearly 70% in its second outing. Green Lantern cost $200 million to produce before a sizeable marketing spend (rival studios say it was one of the most expensive on record). Warners, preparing for the end of Harry Potter, needs new franchises, so was willing to invest big in Green Lantern. A formidable obstacle standing in Green Lantern’s way now is Paramount’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which opens in theaters around the globe on Tuesday night.

I suppose. I honestly didn't really think about it much after the first shot.

It seemed to change from scene to scene, sometimes it worked, sometimes the nose looked off - I would have preferred a straight seam and a point rather than the sculpted nose look, but I guess that was in keeping with the whole costume conforming to the anatomy concept that they had going.

It seemed to change from scene to scene, sometimes it worked, sometimes the nose looked off - I would have preferred a straight seam and a point rather than the sculpted nose look, but I guess that was in keeping with the whole costume conforming to the anatomy concept that they had going.

My hope is what Ross said, that people who were put off in the theaters sees the movie and realizes that it's not as bad as they think. I can see Green Lantern possibly doing good DVD sales and Redbox / InDemand business.

Also, I think hopes for Green Lantern can a little better match reality.

People don't recognize Hal Jordan when he is wearing a mask for the same reason they accept that a man can fly. It's a fictional world where the creators make the rules. Jordan's mask should never have been mentioned and it certainly should not have been the jab of ridicule by Ferris. It's undermining to the character and the world that is being presented as real.

I think the biggest problem was that the mask looked almost "painted on", making it ridiculous that it could actually conceal someone's identity.

I think they should have gone with a solid piece that actually hides the structure of the person's nose and cheekbones -- also, white eyes would be cool. I's like it to feel kinda like a "plate" -- a domino mask version of Iron Man's faceplate. Kyle Rayner's original mask is close but I'd like it's stylings to more closely match Hal's.

I wonder if the studio will go with a straight-ahead sequel or if they'll "Incredible Hulk" it with a soft reboot. Or if this is all lip service and they're just trying to sound confident about a product that's still out on the market.

After all, they said they were committed to Bryan Singer's version of the Superman franchise and were planning a sequel -- but then let time pass and rebooted to the whole thing.

By IB Times Staff Reporter | June 28, 2011 8:51 AM EDT

The poor response at the box office has not fazed the makers of the much hyped about movie Green Lantern. Warner Bros and DC comics are talking about a return of the green crusader, a report in hitflix.com said.

The film opened at a decent $52 million but the second week of the movie saw its collections dropping by around 67 per cent. Considering that most animation comic movies routinely see a downturn after opening week, a nearly 67 per cent downfall seems a bit high. The studio's president of domestic distribution claims "the movie is settling in" and points out that the drop of fanboy films can often be high.

Estimates put the Green Lantern garnering around $135 million from domestic box office, a little low for a movie which cost more than $200 million. The international showing of the movie has also been very lukewarm.

The film’s reviews say that the movie was not adapted enough for the big screen. As the Hitflix.com review puts it, the movie needs a different handling. "A Lantern" sequel just doesn't need a young, creative director who knows how to handle a big visual effects movie, but a filmmaker who actually cares about the property. Jon Favreau's affection for "Iron Man" is in every frame of that film. Matthew Vaughn's love for the X-Men is more than evident in "X-Men: First Class.” The movie was directed by Martin Campbell, the director of Casino Royale.
Get More IBTimes

For Warner Bros, Green Lantern was supposed to be the next big thing after the Harry Porter series. Talking about a Green Lantern franchise makes perfect business sense. Will the film go in multi- character mode with some of the Justice League colleagues making an appearance? Or will Ryan Reynolds return in a stand-alone movie with a better script and in a different environment altogether?