Warner Bros Doesn’t Want Ryan Reynolds Playing Deadpool

Last year we reported on multiple occasions about DC’s Green Lantern project as well as Marvel’s Deadpool movie. Both films cast actor Ryan Reynolds to play their titular character, respectively. Green Lantern sprung into production first, gearing up for a 2011 release date and Warner Bros is already writing a sequel. That is exactly the problem that is concerning the fate of Deadpool.

Earlier this week Deadpool creator Robert Liefeld took to his Twitter account and tweeted this:

Warner Bros. just trying to protect their investment. They don’t want Ryan Reynolds playing Deadpool AND Green Lantern. Interesting 2 watch.

Reynolds has been attached to the Deadpool project for about a year now but the project has yet to move forward – and this may be the reason why. Deadpool has yet to confirm a director, a script, or a starting date. We reported recentley that Robert Rodriguez was in talk to direct the comic book flick, but that news has yet to be confirmed.

So why would Warner Brothers want to prevent Reynolds from making Deadpool? I can think of several reasons. First off, Green Lantern is a DC superhero, while Deadpool is a very violent, not family friendly, character from Marvel. Like Robert Liefeld said above, WB is going to protect their investment. The studio wants brand recognition with Reynolds being associated only with Green Lantern. Also, the studio is ready to do a sequel so if Reynolds did Deadpool, that would inevitably delay production on GL.

Robert Liefield has been actively tweeting all week about his displeasure over his comic book character struggling to make it to the silver screen. Here are some of his tweets that demonstrate his annoyance with the movie studio.

Ryan Reynolds is the new Will Smith, if FOX can’t maximize this window of opportunity with this star, this character, that script=MASSV FAIL

Hopefully cool heads prevail and are reminded of Harrison Ford and how he played Indiana Jones and Han Solo simultaneously.

If FOX blows this one, they’ll have to ask “How did we start at the finish line and get pushed all the way back to the starting gate??”

We will have to wait and see how this all plays out. But right now it is looking like Warner Brothers has the power and will most likely push Reynolds into the Green Lantern sequel as soon as possible. There is even talk of a Green Lantern trilogy. I think this is a little too much too soon since the film production just wrapped and the release date is almost a year away.

What do you think about Ryan Reynolds playing both Green Lantern and Deadpool? Is Warner Brothers smart to protect a film franchise like GL? Is Fox getting screwed in this deal, or did they keep Deadpool on the backburner for too long? Let us know what you think down in the comment section!