Ryan Reynolds On Why ‘Deadpool’ Succeeded & ‘Green Lantern’ Failed

With a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in Deadpool and an Entertainer of the Year award under his belt, it may be hard to remember that there was a time where success continued to evade Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds’ much maligned foray into the superhero genre with Warner Bros.’ Green Lantern was enough of a sore spot for the actor that he took numerous self-deprecating shots at both the film and his work on it throughout Deadpool. Now, Reynolds spoke to Entertainment Weekly where he discussed why Deadpool was a success on all fronts while Green Lantern failed both critically and financially.

Ryan Reynolds explained that Green Lantern‘s poor reception was the result of a rushed production and an inability to understand the material.

“Well it’s simple: Deadpool always knew what it was. With Green Lantern, I don’t think anyone ever figured out exactly what it was. That isn’t to say the hundreds of men and women didn’t work their fingers to the bone to make it as good as possible. It also fell victim to the process in Hollwyood which is like poster first, release date second, script last.”

Ryan Reynolds revealed that he had attempted to convince Fox to greenlight Ryan Reynolds one last time before he ultimately accepted the role in Green Lantern.

“At the time, it was a huge opportunity for me so I was excited to try and take part in it. I did however write a letter to Fox right before I had to decide whether or not I was gonna do Green Lantern. I asked one last time sort of like the groom standing at the alter, ‘Will you please be my wife?’ and they said they couldn’t pull the trigger on Deadpool. For too many reasons too boring to illustrate, it just didn’t work.”

It is encouraging to see that while Green Lantern never became the franchise launching hit many had hoped it would be, the unrelenting efforts of Ryan Reynolds to bring Deadpool to the big screen have resulted in both a successful film and much deserved recognition for his hard work.

Source: EW