There have been rumours swirling around the Warner Brothers have approached Tom Cruise for the upcoming Green Lantern Corp project. While Cruise has never worked for WB before making the likelihood of this coming true slim, there is undeniably an offer by the production house and Tom Cruise has not shown a lack of interest in the project. The offer is said to play the lead Hal Jordan as well as produce the film, which are his usual roles.
However, just like Mission: Impossible, people close to Cruise say that he might bring in Christopher McQuarrie for the project. McQuarrie wrote, directed as well as produced theMission: Impossible movies and Tom Cruise might push for his inclusion in the Green Lantern movie as well. This might be a problem for Warner Brothers as there have been continuous reports of heavy studio interference in the movies Suicide Squad and Batman v/s Superman. After the Justice League movie bombed spectacularly, the studio might be even less willing to take chances. But then again, Cruise and McQuarrie are a tried and tested team and the production house may be willing to give them a rope long enough for the movie.
While plenty of fans dislike the idea of an A-list Hollywood celebrity joining the cast of a movie on a beloved comic book character, it should be noted that the star has a knack forchoosing the most high quality projects that can work on the big screen. Also, there was wide disapproval when Ben Affleck was chosen to play Batman in the DC Extended Universe and most fans of the franchise attacked Affleck using performances on his worst projects. However, Affleck has since shown that even an A-list Hollywood star can bring the grit and awareness to the character he is playing. Cruise will also draw a lot of crowd that would not otherwise go to a comic book movie such as Green Lantern and that is also a plus in some ways.
The rumours about the Green Lantern movie suggest that it will feature both Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Hal is supposed to be around 50, a former test pilot who was chosen to join the Lanterns Corp, and Stewart will be young army sniper and a recent recruit for the Corps. In this scenario, Warner Brothers could make an exception for the 55 year old Tom Cruise who certainly could pass off as a veteran space crimefighter. While Cruise has never explored the superhero genre before, there is no doubt that the man Green Lantern Corps project is looking for will be well suited to be played by him.
Many fans are hoping that that Green Lantern movie will be about the working of the Corps and not just the adventures of Hal Jordan. If Cruise is cast as Hal, one thing that is certain isthat he will overshadow the rest of the cast. Ben Affleck certainly did that to Henry Cavill in Batman v/s Superman. However, there is an opportunity here in the sense that a great team of Lanterns may provide more dimensions to the movie. John Stewart is the military guy and if he is the recruit in this movie then his character arc can serve as the audience’sintroduction to Hal as well as the way the Green Lanterns Corp work.
Guy Gardener is always the comic relief in Green Lantern productions, and all other characters are defined bythe one character angle that makes them interesting. As far as Hal Jordan goes, the guy is just affable and actually resembles many of the Marvel superheroes that only have to besuperheroes to work on the big screen. Tom Cruise may be the perfect person to play this with his signature charm. He can also bring the action experience he has from the Mission:Impossible movies and the adrenaline of Top Gun to the table.Given DC’s recent woes – Justice League was a flop while the competing Avengers have scored hit after hit – Cruise and McQuarrie may actually bring fresh ideas to the fore that canhelp DC regain its standing with its fans. The typical edgy narration and plotlines of DC movies may sit well with McQuarrie’s writings and Cruise’s acting and production. Therefore, Tom Cruise seems like good news as Green Lantern but it remains to be seen if this takes shape at all.
