Green Lantern, the Emerald Knight’s first theatrical film, was released two years before Man of Steel, and was meant to launch off a new DC franchise. Unfortunately, the ring slinger’s film received generally bad reviews and only made enough money to cover its costs. Green Lantern’s actor Ryan Reynolds has since found his superhero happy place as Deadpool, and in retrospect, he knows that the film’s failure was due to the fact that it went into production before a clear understanding of what the film was meant to be.

With Entertainment Weekly, the Entertainer of the Year and Hugh Jackman rival addressed the two films, sharing his excitement for Green Lantern as well as his unsatisfactory connection with Fox at the time.

He remarked, “Deadpool always knew what it was. With Green Lantern, I don’t think anyone ever figured out exactly what it was. That isn’t to say the hundreds of men and women didn’t work their fingers to the bone to make it as good as possible.

“It also fell victim to the process in Hollywood which is like poster first, release date second, script last.”

“At the time, it was a huge opportunity for me so I was excited to try and take part in it.”

Ryan Reynolds | Steven Ferdman/Getty Images

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Despite the fact that many individuals worked hard to make Green Lantern a success, Ryan Reynolds stated that Warner Bros. was more concerned with getting the movie out than with making sure the screenplay was great before starting. As a result, there was never a chance to nail down what the movie’s tone was supposed to be, resulting in a generic final product. Deadpool, on the other hand, was always going to be what it was: an R-rated, violent, profanity-filled, funny film that authentically reproduced the tone of the Merc with the Mouth’s comic book storylines. To be fair, more than a half-decade in development hell gives you plenty of time to iron out the kinks.

I’m still not sure what Green Lantern was intended to be, despite the fact that I watched it in cinemas. It was clearly inspired by every superhero film created before the Marvel Cinematic Universe revolutionized the way things were done, yet it was released smack in the middle of the build-up to The Avengers and the end of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. As a superhero picture, it’s in a bit of a bind.

When it comes to Fox and Deadpool, you have to scratch your head at Fox’s decision-making. Before committing to Green Lantern, Reynold’s appeared ready to accomplish it, but it never happened:

Reynolds went on to say: “I did, however, write a letter to Fox right before I had to decide whether or not I was gonna do Green Lantern. I asked one last time sort of like the groom standing at the altar, ‘Will you please be my wife?’ and they said they couldn’t pull the trigger on Deadpool. For too many reasons too boring to illustrate, it just didn’t work.”

This isn’t the first time Ryan Reynolds has conceded that Green Lantern as a film didn’t work, and it’s unlikely to be the last. However, the actor has stated on multiple occasions that he has no regrets about playing Hal Jordan and that if he had to do it all over again, he would. Still, now that he’s settled into his role as Deadpool in the X-Men universe, it’s easier for him to reflect on his time as a Green Lantern and pinpoint all of the mistakes he made along the way.