Ryan Reynolds Finds Joy in Blake Lively’s Green Lantern Misfire

Ryan Reynolds is well known for backing his partner Blake Lively’s achievements, but it turns out he’s just as chuffed about one of her less successful outings with Warner Bros.—the much-maligned Green Lantern. The 2011 superhero flick, which saw Reynolds don the green suit as the lead, is often remembered as a bit of a dud, both critically and at the box office. Yet, for Reynolds, there’s a rather sweet reason he looks back on it fondly.

Family Ties and Unexpected Favourites

Speaking at a recent CMO Council Summit hosted by The Wall Street Journal, Reynolds revealed that his son Olin is absolutely obsessed with Green Lantern. The actor admitted,

You laugh, but my son, it’s his favourite film, and he watches it every f—ing day. Do you understand the work I’ve had to do to get to the place where I can just pass by that screen and not go, ‘Well, we could have [done that differently]?’

For those not across the details, Green Lantern was a critical flop, scoring just 25% on Rotten Tomatoes and a middling 5.5 out of 10 on IMDb. Despite a hefty $200 million budget, it scraped in only $219.5 million worldwide, making it one of the least lucrative projects for both Lively and Reynolds. Still, the film did spark their romance, so perhaps it wasn’t a total loss.

Looking Back and Learning from the Past

Reynolds has spoken about how Green Lantern gives him a chance to reflect on his own growth as an actor. He described that period as,

That was a time in my life when I was, ‘Yes, sir. No, sir. How high can I jump, sir?’

These days, he uses his so-called failures as teaching moments for his kids. He explained,

My kids, all they see is a winner. When I go outside, I get pats on the back and it’s a selfie parade, and I oblige everyone pretty much. My kids only see that. So, I’ve learned lately to make sure [I am] talking about the failures and how that is literally the base and ingredient for everything else.

Alongside Olin, Reynolds and Lively have three daughters: James, Inez, and Betty.

Parenting Challenges and a Bit of Banter

Reynolds has also joked about the unique challenges of raising a son after three daughters. On Late Night with Seth Meyers, he quipped,

Three girls—just so easy. And then the boy, who’s gotta break everything. I’m, like, in direct competition with this young man.

He went on to say,

There’s no way. I would give myself a punching vasectomy. There’s no way I would allow that to happen.

Not all fans took kindly to his humour, but Reynolds is known for taking the mickey out of himself and others, so it’s hardly out of character.

Green Lantern is currently available to stream on HBO Max.