‘Only has one way to act’: Even ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ can’t protect Ryan Reynolds from backlash as he’s blamed for DC’s latest woe

Despite delivering Marvel the highest-grossing superhero movie of 2024, DC fans aren’t keen on letting Ryan Reynolds live down his woeful stint as the Green Lantern.

Reynolds himself isn’t above poking fun at his time as Hal Jordan, but it looks like the aftermath of the box office bomb still lives on over a decade later. As James Gunn progresses with his plan to revamp the DCU, filling the roles of the Green Lantern has hit quite a few bumps in the road. To put it lightly, the Green Lantern has become somewhat of a live-action pariah.

The Green Lantern dilemma

Jeff “The InSneider” Sneider has continuously fed the public information concerning the attempts to revive the Green Lantern for live adaptations. Ewan McGregor, Matthew McConaughey, and Josh Brolin have been tied to the role, with Kyle Chandler emerging as the incoming Hal Jordan. While these casting choices and decisions have garnered mixed reviews, it’s the latest Sneider info that has fans staring daggers at Reynolds once again.

Among the announced projects for the Gods and Monsters chapter of Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU is Lanterns. In June, it was confirmed that Lanterns received the green light, and will be the first live-action series in the new DCU. The show will have eight episodes and will air on HBO. 

Casting for the multiple versions of the Green Lantern has been rumored to be difficult, in part because of the “complicated legacy” of the character, to which Reynolds largely contributed. Allegedly, five major stars were invited to play Hal Jordan in the DCU but outrightly refused, especially following Reynolds’ failed attempt in 2011. Now, in the years since the movie, it has been noted by quite a few people that Green Lantern’s failure wasn’t a one-off, and Reynolds is actually not that great of an actor. While that take remains subjective, his poor acting in at least one movie is leaving ripple effects years down the line. 

The people vs. Ryan Reynolds

In Hollywood, being typecast is not necessarily a bad thing. Actors like Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, and even Jesse Eisenberg have been noted for their similar roles in multiple projects, and continue to bring in major bank. However, these actors haven’t been blamed for the outright collapse of Green Lantern adaptations. That’s where Reynolds comes in. Some people believe that his constant referencing of the movie’s failure is an attempt to misdirect fans from his “one-note” acting style. 

While Reynolds is indeed a major movie star, his acting isn’t exactly revered. Evidently, the success of the Deadpool franchise is carried by the actor’s signature wit and sense of humor, but these qualities are blatantly present in the bulk of his other projects. Between the romantic-comedy The Proposal, the action-comedies Free Guy and The Adam Project, and his role as the Merc with a Mouth, you’re not exactly getting a ton of range. And that’s not a bad thing per se — it’s just enough for fans to blame you for ruining their chances of a successful live adaptation of one of the most iconic Justice League members.