Ryan Reynolds addresses DCU ‘Lanterns’ Green Lantern return, 15 years after his flop

Asked point‑blank by Entertainment Tonight if he’d pop up in Lanterns on Max, Ryan Reynolds didn’t dodge. He talked about what the 2011 Green Lantern taught him — and how, despite all the jokes he’s made about it, he hasn’t closed the door on the ring‑slinger’s world.

"I love it," he said. "I learned so much making that movie, and I know what you're thinking, you're thinking, ' Oh, learn what not to do. In some part, yes, but also that anytime you're making that large, there are core lessons that come of it, and I owe my entire career to that movie."

Reynolds also tied the film to a major life turn: he met Blake Lively while making it. She played Carol Ferris opposite his Hal Jordan, a set connection that became a marriage — and, as he put it, a career pivot he still credits to that experience.

Finding a second wind

Maligned at the time — it earned $237 million worldwide on a reported $200 million budget — Green Lantern quietly found fresh attention in 2026 . Tracking site FlixPatrol says the movie briefly topped the service’s movie chart in the U.K. and hovered around No. 7–8 on Max’s U.S. movie chart, sending viewers back to Hal Jordan’s first clash with Parallax.

That bump has faded as the film slipped down the rankings, but the timing lined up with Lanterns gaining traction on Max and sparked a new round of curiosity about Reynolds’ take — CGI suit jokes and all.

As for a cameo, Reynolds kept it simple: he’s interested, but he didn’t share any plans beyond that.