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Over a decade since Green Lantern flopped at the box office, Ryan Reynolds is opening up about what he learned from the experience—insights that continue to shape his creative approach. Speaking at the 2025 TIME 100 Summit, Reynolds described the 2011 DC film as a significant turning point in his career.
"I learned all the most amazing lessons I could ever have in the creative space from that movie," Reynolds told the audience, recalling how the film's shortcomings taught him the importance of prioritizing storytelling over spectacle.
Reynolds played Hal Jordan, a test pilot chosen to wield a powerful green ring and join an intergalactic police force. Despite a star-studded cast including Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard, and a staggering budget of $200 million, the movie grossed only $237 million worldwide. Critics and audiences alike were unimpressed, with the film receiving a mere 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Reflecting on the film's production, Reynolds said, "I saw a lot of money being spent on special effects, all sorts of stuff. And I remember suggesting, 'Why don't we write like a scene the way people would talk? I don't know, it could be a fun exchange of dialogue that all doesn't cost anything?'" However, his suggestions were often dismissed in favor of grand visuals. "They would say, 'Just spectacle. Spectacle.'"
This lack of focus on character and dialogue left a lasting impression on Reynolds. "Too much money, too much time wrecks creativity. It just murders it. And constraint is the greatest creative tool you could possibly have," he said.
Interestingly, Green Lantern holds sentimental value for Reynolds, as it was during the filming that he met his wife, Blake Lively. He also mentioned that the movie is a favorite of his two-year-old son, Olin.
Though Reynolds' journey as Green Lantern ended after the film's release, the character is set to return in the upcoming DC series Lanterns, with Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler playing John Stewart and Hal Jordan respectively.
As Reynolds summed up his biggest takeaway: "Character over spectacle was the lesson that I took with me, in retrospect. I look back now, it's what really shapes my point of view."
