First, the director, Darren Aronofsky, left the project. Then natural disasters and their aftermath scourged Japan, where the Wolverine was to be filmed. Now it looks like Hugh Jackman may be looking for other work until the movie gets back on track.

While we will likely have First Class to keep us going until the Wolverine gets made, the fact that Jackman is going to be involved in another production means that we will likely be waiting two years—optimistically—for the Wolverine to arrive, if it ever does. The sad thing is that maybe what made this movie anticipated will be lost in the interim. All it takes is a mediocre director, or one with a vision at variance with what is in the script to change it into another Origins fiasco.

Please, no.

And to add insult to injury, it looks like the Deadpool movie is languishing as well. Should Green Lantern make money, Ryan Reynolds will likely be back on for the sequel production quickly—with little or no time for Deadpool. And that’s even if a director can be found in the near future.

Things are looking grim. Thanks Hollywood—or the Fates, Satan, whomever—for taking my dreams and drilling them in the pooper.

It may have been the quality of the films more than the technology, I don’t know, but I really hope Kilowog (and any other alien GLs we get to see) are more Gollum than Jar Jar.

And even more than obvious CGI-ness, let’s hope he doesn’t resemble an offensive racial stereotype.

Yes, Jar Jar, I do mean you.

You can’t see the pic at Comic Book Movie, but it is still available at Screen Rant. For now.

The synopsis basically boils down to Parallax threatening the very universe and Hal Jordan being recruited as the very first human Green Lantern. Of course, because we humans is so dang aw-sum, Hal’s going to be the bestest GL evar!

Um, yeah.

Seriously, the reason that Hal’s going to be legend—(wait for it)—dary is because no other being in the galaxy has a human’s humanity. That’s right, humanity.

It’s too bad they didn’t choose a dog, because I’d be interested in finding out just what dogity does with the power ring.

Now this is only a synopsis, and I’m not totally certain it’s even legit, but it really does scream paint-by-numbers. Maybe Hal is just awesome, and that’s why he’ll be the best GL. And maybe it’s not the best GL ever, but certainly the key to fighting Parallax. And maybe, just maybe, it’s his hard work and determination to be the best that actually scores the trick, rather than being born into it.

Do these people not want a meritocracy? It’s like Star Wars—much as I love and worship at the altar of the original three—which is pretty much a hidden screed in favour of eugenics (if you haven’t been born into it, you can’t join the Jedi!)

In any case, I’m still in wait and see mode. Given the regularity with which I see movies, I think it’s clear this won’t be seen in the theatre anyway.

Also? Hot.

I really took notice of her in Strange Days. I like that movie. I own it on DVD. I have strong memories of seeing it. Those are: 1) Cool! 2) A buddy’s date walked out during the rape scene.

SPOILER There is a rape scene.

It’s all good. The date ended up marrying my buddy and they had a bunch of kids together.

Anyway, back to Angela Bassett. Word is that she’s been cast in Green Lantern as Amanda Waller. Now, while I am glad that she’s getting work and all, she’s not exactly who I would expect to play the Wall. That is totally from a physical perspective. The Wall is a very large woman. Very large. Bassett is not.

Please do not let her play this in a fat suit.

I think that casting Bassett is a fine choice. She is an amazing actress and can deliver with gravitas or intimidation. What makes my ears prick up is the linkage this makes with Task Force X, also known as the Suicide Squad.

Is DC attempting to pull a Marvel, linking a bunch of their movies, using a “secret agent” kind of character to do so? Will the Wall be featured in other DC movies? Will she be DC’s Nick Fury? And if so, what role or purpose will TFX play?

Anyone out there have the answers?

This isn’t a huge surprise, but it’s now kind of official.

Personally, I think this is awesome. It especially awesome if Sinestro is used as a mentor (granted, a rather unsympathetic one) in the first movie and not revealed as a villain until later.

And if you consider that a spoiler, you can eat my ass, because Sinestro as a bad-guy is total common knowledge. I mean, look as his name!

Okay, you can now count me as moderately excited. I mean, now the movie has both Ryan Reynolds and Mark Strong.

You’re welcome.

Okay, so the deal with Sinestro is that it is not Jackie Earle Haley, which is exactly what he said, but which many sources didn’t see fit to believe him on. Now Martin Campbell, the director of Green Lantern, has totally squashed the rumour, and replaced it with one of his own.

“In fact, we’re in negotiations with Mark Strong to play Sinestro.”

Okay, so not so much rumour as fact.

I don’t know if I like all this truthiness and from-the-sourcedness. I think I much prefer rampant speculation. Let’s start a rumour that Mark Strong is all a smokescreen while the studio tries to get . . . wait for it . . . Mr. T to play Sinestro.

I can hear the fanboy anguish and it warms my heart.

So, Mark Strong as Sinestro–I can totally dig that. And Martin Campbell goes on in the same interview to tempt us with visions of others from the Green Lantern Corps, such as Kilowog.

Okay, so maybe I’m a teeny, tiny little bit excited about this movie. Can Campbell bring it all together and make it awesome? Here’s hoping.

So I was out there reading Screen Rant, which I often do, and lo and behold there’s an article on Green Lantern.

And on Sinestro.

And on Sinestro’s role as: “a mentor or drill sergeant . . .”

Now this is all speculation, based on an “early script review,” and may change if/when the movie gets going.

There’s also speculation that Jackie Earle Haley, he of Rorshach, is in some way, shape, or form connected to the role of Sinestro, even though he has specifically denied that.

Now this is interesting, and I think introducing Sinestro as the mentor to later use him as a villain–especially with a substantial portion of the audience well aware of the irony as Sinestro trains Hal Jordan–is the way to go. The way not to go, I would argue, is to have two villains in the movie.

Which is why the article’s reference to Legion as the other villain (Hector Hammond being the first) makes me just shake my head. Is there enough stupidity for a face palm? Perhaps not, but it is certainly moving in that direction.

What the fuck is it with Hollywood and its inability to focus? Richard Donner’s first Superman was spectacular. Guess what? One villain. Granted, Superman II rocked the house, and it had a suite of villains, but in that movie it was a collection of villains linked together. It’s like X-Men, wherein the real villain is Magneto and the other villains basically act as his surrogates. Hmmm, X-Men United kind of went with two villains as well.

Okay, okay, the FIRST movie in a franchise should only have one villain. That villain might have a posse (like R’as al Ghul in the Batman Begins), but there is one villain, one focus. I mean, there’s a lot going on in the intro to a (hoped for) franchise, so let’s not mess it up by trying to do too much.

Not seeing the script, maybe Hammond and Legion are linked somehow, like Mystique and Magneto in X-Men, or Bullseye and Kingpin in Daredevil. Still, I reserve the internet right to be offended and appalled without any concrete evidence.

While not actually offended nor appalled, I reserve that right.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled stuff.

Recently, the Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the villain in the Green Lantern movie will be Hector Hammond. Peter Sarsgaard is in negotiations to play:

“ . . . the pathologist son of a senator who is seen as a disappointment in his father’s eyes. He becomes infused with psychic powers when he discovers a meteor.”

Now that’s a little bit different than I remember it, and Wikipedia agrees with me. No biggie. Things get changed for movies all the time. The biggie comes in that unless this is going to be one of those movies with multiple villains (please, no!), there’s not going to be too much “cosmic” about this Green Lantern movie.

It’s too early to tell, but this being the internet, I’m going make assumptions, and then move forward as though those assumptions were facts.

While the main villain need not be Sinestro—and I think introducing Sinestro as a Green Lantern, and Hal Jordan’s mentor, only to bring him back as the villain in the second or third movie—any costumed hero . . . actually, any hero could fight Hector Hammond. Hammond merely stands in for any telepathic foe. Why waste a character that may be derived or otherwise inspired by the Lensmen with an Earth-bound adventure?

I hope I’m wrong. I suppose there are ways to take a Hammond story and put it in space, but then why use Hammond?

I’ll be interested to see what grows out of this, but so far, nothing is lighting that fire of enthusiasm.

I’m saving that for Deadpool.

I’m still not overly excited.

The Hollywood Reporter is saying that Blake Lively will be playing Carol Ferris. That would be Hal Jordan’s love interest and also, later in the comics, his nemesis Star Sapphire. I haven’t been following Blackest Night very closely, but the whole Care Bear Colours War that was going on in Green Lantern Corps had an army of Star Sapphires. Like I said, I haven’t followed the comics since I was a kid, so I don’t know if the Star Sapphire Corps is a recent innovation or something a little older. I have no idea how it will play in the movie.

And other than having a pretty cool name that might work for a Bond girl, I know nothing of Ms. Lively or her work . . . other than that she looks pretty good in her pics.

Also, apparently, principle photography begins in 10 weeks. That’s pretty soon.

I’m not excited because while super cop with a power ring is an awesome concept, it is really heavily dependent on the writer and the director. Green Lantern is a lot like Superman–the concept can totally flop in the wrong hands.

Now, Martin Campbell, who is slated to direct, directed Casino Royale, my third favourite Bond film, so I have some hope that this might be a good movie. Given the budget, given the prominence of the character in the DC universe, and given that I haven’t heard much from those involved to lead me to believe they are invested in the character, I’m thinking we’ll probably get something fun and interesting, but not anything important or different.

Bryan Singer back with the X-Men? Important.

A Deadpool movie, with the insanity and breaking the fourth wall? Different.

Green Lantern? Neither.

Though I await correction . . . possibly delivered by a massive-huge, glowing, green fist.