Green Lantern Screenwriter Responds to Deadpool 2’s Jokes

Deadpool 2 contains a number of amusing jokes at the expense of DC’s failed Green Lantern movie; and it seems that film’s writer, Marc Guggenheim, rather appreciates the humor. Taking to social media, Guggenheim has indicated his amusement at the gags.

2011’s Green Lantern was an ambitious movie, and was DC’s first attempt to lay the foundations for a shared cinematic universe. Unfortunately, the film was also a critical and box office flop, grossing under $220 million worldwide against a budget of $200 million. The CGI was universally panned, particularly the green costume Ryan Reynolds wore as the titular hero. The entire DC shared universe was shelved for two years, ultimately launching with 2013’s Man of Steel instead.

Related: Deadpool 2: Ryan Reynolds Says Fox Had Disney Joke Cut

Ryan Reynolds has more than redeemed himself for the poor performance of Green Lantern, of course, winning popular acclaim as the Merc With A Mouth. Deadpool 2 acknowledges his troubled past with the superhero genre, containing gags based on both Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And it seems Green Lantern‘s co-writer and co-producer, Marc Guggenheim, rather appreciated the humor. Guggenheim took to Twitter to express his reaction:

The post-credits scene of Deadpool 2, praised by Marvel’s Joe Quesada as “the best after-credits scene in movie history,” contains the perfect Green Lantern joke. It sees Deadpool use Cable’s time-travel technology to reset history, saving the woman he loves (and one member of X-Force), before heading into the kind of fourth-wall-breaking escapades we’d expect from the Merc With A Mouth. In one hilarious scene, Deadpool actually assassinates Ryan Reynolds just as he’s reading the script for Green Lantern. “You’ll thank me, Canada,” Wade declares.

Warner Bros. seems able to take a joke at its own expense too. The studio’s official social media account responded to Deadpool 2‘s gag with a pun of their own, telling Reynolds they need to take the ring back. Reynolds, naturally, upstaged them by running with the joke and suggesting they should have used a “NuvaRing” in the first place. It’s hardly a surprise to see that Guggenheim can take a joke as well; he’s renowned for his sense of humor, which informs all the shows and comics he works on.

Of course, Reynolds isn’t the only one to have redeemed himself in the superhero genre since Green Lantern. Working with Greg Berlanti, Guggenheim launched DCTV’s tremendously successful Arrowverse. Appropriately enough, one of the Arrowverse’s spinoffs is Legends of Tomorrow, which concerns itself primarily with the idea of changing the timestream. That adds yet another strange layer of humor to the post-credits scene.

More: Deadpool 2’s Best Jokes and One-Liners

Source: Marc Guggenheim

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Thomas Bacon
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Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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