Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern Becomes a Streaming Hit on HBO Max

Ryan Reynolds has established himself as one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood. After years of cycling through raunchy comedies, romantic leads, horror roles, and action features, Reynolds found a defining role in Deadpool. He brought that quick-witted persona to films such as Free Guy and The Adam Project, while also voicing the titular character in Detective Pikachu. The massive commercial success of Deadpool & Wolverine reinforced his box-office drawing power. However, his earlier superhero venture produced a very different outcome.

Warner Bros. released Green Lantern in 2011 with intentions to turn Reynolds into the lead of a flagship DC franchise. The $200 million sci-fi production faced harsh reviews, underperformed commercially, and quickly turned into a pop-culture punchline that Reynolds frequently mocks.

Fifteen years later, the film has found a new audience. Green Lantern reached the No. 1 spot on HBO Max in the United Kingdom, according to FlixPatrol, giving the notorious box-office misfire an unexpected resurgence on streaming platforms.

What is Green Lantern about?

The film stars Reynolds as Hal Jordan, an arrogant test pilot who receives a powerful ring from a dying alien. The artifact recruits Jordan into the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic peacekeeping force that uses willpower to manifest physical constructs.

Jordan initially resists his new duties, but the arrival of the fear-fueled cosmic entity Parallax forces him to defend Earth. He also faces scientist Hector Hammond, played by Peter Sarsgaard, who gains dangerous abilities after coming into contact with alien biology.

The supporting cast features Blake Lively as Carol Ferris, Mark Strong as the veteran warrior Sinestro, Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller, and Tim Robbins as Senator Robert Hammond.

The production struggled to win over critics and audiences. Reviewers faulted the thin narrative, disjointed tone, and heavy digital effects, including Jordan’s entirely CGI costume. The movie holds a 25% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and earned roughly $220 million worldwide against its $200 million production budget.

Reynolds has addressed the reception directly over the years, often poking fun at the film and acknowledging that the project never really had a strong creative identity.

Boosted by a new TV show

The streaming surge coincided with the debut of HBO’s Lanterns. The television series premiered in the United States before arriving on HBO Max in the United Kingdom on Aug. 17, placing the comic book property back in the cultural conversation.

The series stars Kyle Chandler as veteran Hal Jordan alongside Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. Instead of repeating a traditional origin story, Lanterns frames the narrative as a grounded detective mystery, following the two officers as they investigate an American heartland murder with wide cosmic repercussions.

In Polygon’s review of Lanterns, the show earned praise as an exceptional superhero detective drama that combines high-concept space lore with the gritty atmosphere of series like True Detective.

While the two productions share no narrative continuity, the debut of Lanterns offered viewers an immediate reason to revisit DC’s previous live-action Hal Jordan film. With both titles available on the same streaming platform, subscribers have turned back to Reynolds’ initial portrayal of the character.

Source: Polygon