Green Lantern 2? Er...Apparently so.

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Well, according to the Hollywood Reporter Warner Brothers are still moving ahead with their plans for a series of Green Lantern movies. According to their sources, even though the performance of the film, due in part to scathing reviews and in other part to it being kinda lame, the feeling is that the character, as played by Ryan Reynolds, and the mythology are worthy of further films. Also that the film’s opening take of $53m, despite those reviews and endless bad publicity, shows that there’s sufficient interest from the public.

Warner Bros consistent failure to make anything other than Batman successful over a period of time is a growing cause for concern and they can’t have Christopher Nolan in charge of everything. The Dark Knight Rises will be his last Batman film and he is producing their latest Superman attempt, Man of Steel, as well. With Marvel producing a series of successful films (Iron Man I & II, Incredible Hulk & Thor) and their Captain Americas film generating plenty of interest (as the final film leading up to their ambitious and risky cross over The Avengers) as well as reaping the benefit of even the failed Licensed films like 20^th Century Fox’s X-Men movies and Sony’s Spider-Man films, Warners could be so determined to get their wider DC universe onscreen that they will stay on their current path regardless. The film cost $200m to make and the general consensus is that the total cost, including marketing, is in the $300m range.

What may be helpful to fully understanding this action is the money that these films can generate outside of box office takings and DVD / Blu-Ray sales. Warner Brothers licensing revenue for 2010 came in at $6b. Now that includes things like Harry Potter, Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes and the whole of DC comics too.  Marvel’s income, which of course is only for Marvel was $5.6b. In other words DC comics is seriously underperforming, in relation to its main rival Marvel. A major part of what drives Marvel’s huge licensing muscle is the awareness and must have factor generated by the films based on its characters. For example in the year that Iron Man 2 was the only Marvel based film out the licensing revenue increased by $700m; now bear in mind that not one penny of that was related to the film’s box office take, or DVD / TV / Blu-Ray sales. Even an unsuccessful Lantern movie ) which seems the most likely outcome, will have generated a boost in licensing money and generated interest in the wider DC Universe. Marvel Studios’ Incredible Hulk, whilst fulfilling Marvel’s primary aim of making the character likeable again after Hulk, wasn’t a massive money spinner, but it made a massive impact on the licensing revenue.

Finally I’ve a crackpot theory that has been driving some other box office watchers crazy. It’s that some studios are looking at their super hero ‘franchises’ (really hate that term) in the long term; that the first movie gross, outside of disaterous box office and buzz, isn’t the be all and end all, as it would be with almost all other films, and that having gotten a character, that the general public was unaware of, into the public consciousness the second film is primed for a much bigger gross. This explains why a sequel to Ghost Rider, still with Nicolas Cage, is currently in the works for release next year. It’s what happened with Hellboy 2 (although it ended up with Universal by the time it was produced).

Anyway we’ll find out soon enough if this really comes to fruition. Another theory as just flashed before my eyes! If everyone thinks there’s going to be a sequel, they’ll gout and watch this one, or rent / buy it in a few months time! Why those crafty WB suits!

People eager for more of Ryan Reynolds in costume needn’t worry too much. Deadpool is still due in the not too distant future.