Is Tom Cruise set for Green Lantern’s Hal Jordan role under direction of Christopher McQuarrie?

Sometimes production companies can’t leave well enough alone.  Yesterday’s mega flop could be tomorrow’s huge hit (spoiler It probably won’t) and this is the philosophy that Warner Bros seem to be adhering to currently.

When Warner Bros announced their slate of DCEU movies, a Green Lantern reboot was among them.

Previously brought to the big screen in 2011 as a Ryan Reynolds starring, big budget CGI extravaganza, the origin story of Hal Jordan becoming the Green Lantern fell flat and kinda became a joke, failing critically, financially and – most importantly – with the fans. Now DC/Warner are seeking Oscar winning filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie to shoot their Green Lantern Corp movie

Green Lantern Corp is still part of the slate, even after the massive changes made in leadership and creative direction following the poor reception of Batman v Superman and Justice League.  The movie co-writer David S Goyer has confirmed that “the Green Lantern reboot is still in the works” back in January but hasn’t offered any additional info beyond that.

That Hashtag Show is reporting (below) that WB is now looking at McQuarrie to take the reins on Green Lantern Corps, having previously considered such candidates as Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) for the job. McQuarrie has directed four movies so far, including the first Jack Reacher, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and this summer’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

Seeing as he’s also written every film that he’s directed to date, it stands to reason that McQuarrie will also rework the Green Lantern Corps script, should he sign on for the project.

That Hashtag Show further speculates that if McQuarrie does sign on to direct Green Lantern Corps, there’s a real chance that Tom Cruise will follow and sign up to play Hal Jordan in the film. The idea isn’t as far-fetched as it might seem at a passing glance, either. Cruise was on the Hal Jordan shortlist for Green Lantern Corps last year and isn’t too far outside the age range (39-50) that WB is reportedly still looking to cast the Jordan character at. If Cruise does sign on, then his version of Hal Jordan would be something of a mentor to a 21-30 years old version of John Stewart in the film.

Cruise remains at the top of his game as an action star even now that he’s 55 years old, and his run of films with McQuarrie either writing, directing or both is pretty dang impressive (Valkyrie, Jack Reacher, Edge of Tomorrow, Mission: Impossible).

However, Green Lantern Corps would be more of a green screen/CGI heavy offering than the practical stunt-driven action movies that Cruise prefers to work on, so his involvement is far from a sure thing even if McQuarrie signs on to direct. On the other hand, since Hal Jordan starts out as a pilot, the film would give Cruise the chance to further show off his flying skills – something he’s been practicing of late for the upcoming sequel Top Gun: Maverick.

It’s believed that WB/DC is still aiming to have Green Lantern Corps ready to hit theatres by 2020, meaning that pre-production and possibly even filming could begin this year. As such, a clearer picture of the situation – and either Cruise and/or McQuarrie’s involvement with the project or lack thereof – will hopefully begin to emerge in the near future

Tom Cruise in the DCEU I’m not sure how I feel about that.  Personally, I think he’s not the answer to the problems faced by Warner Bros in their efforts to really make the DC movie sing and could end up being seen as stunt casting that may sell tickets but won’t create fans.

Then again I could be wrong, it has been known to happen on occasion, those occasions being twice in the 1990s and once in 2008.