Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern Suit Will Be Almost Entirely Computer-Generated

Breaking news from Peter Sciretta of Slashfilm that is probably giving a lot of comic-book fans a heart attack as an initial reaction. Peter is reporting, from a “trusted source” at Warner Bros., that Ryan Reynolds will not be wearing any kind of suit for the upcoming Green Lantern movie, because the suit will be almost entirely CG. Oh, and the featured picture above is fan-made, so that’s not what it will look like.

That’s right folks. Director Martin Campbell and his costume crew, headed up Nigla Dickson, are trying to achieve something very different with Green Lantern. The report says Ngila was tasked with trying to find a way to do something that stands apart from all of the other superheroes spandex suit designs we’ve seen in the past, like with Spider-Man, Batman, Daredevil, etc.

While I was initially shocked and dismayed to hear this news, after hearing how the Green Lantern suit functions in the comics, it actually makes sense. Hal Jordan changes into his suit almost instantly when donning the power ring, so using CG will allow them to achieve this visually in the film. The suit will be lined with with LED lights for motion-capture purposes, similar Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen, the Na’vis in Avatar and Gollum in The Lord of the Rings movies.

So for all of you fans out there who are reaching for a paper bag to combat the hyperventilation you are currently experiencing, take a step back, breathe, and relax. These people know what they’re doing. And with the ever-increasing quality of visual effects technology, this should turn out to be pretty sweet.

And how is Reynolds doing as Green Lantern so far? Peter says his source told him that Reynolds is currently “knocking it out of the park.” When the news initially broke last July, I was definitely skeptical about the casting. But it’s good to hear Reynolds is doing well and I will gladly eat my words if does indeed, knock it out of the park.

Green Lantern will be shooting for the next several months and will be unveiled to the world on June 17, 2011.

What Do You Think? Discuss.