Ryan Reynolds and Quentin Tarantino together on a film would have been a force to be reckoned with. But would they have been perfect for a superhero film? Post Marvel ruling the box office charts with the MCU, Tarantino’s opinions on superhero films have changed a lot. In various interviews, he has openly implied despising the famous superhero cinematic universe.
Not just that, the famous director once referred to directors of superhero films as “hired hands.” Tarantino revealed that he could never helm a superhero movie because he doesn’t think of himself as a hired hand. But once upon a time, he was indeed interested in a superhero film that would go on to star Ryan Reynolds.
Quentin Tarantino Declined Ryan Reynolds’ Superhero Film
Quentin Tarantino directing a superhero film would be a dream come true for many. It’s wild to think that once upon a time, it was indeed a possibility. The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood director revealed that DC had approached him with the Green Lantern IP. In a 2009 MTV interview, he said,
“I was offered the Green Lantern. Not since it’s been a script, but just like, ‘Hey we own the Green Lantern. Would you like it?'”
Tarantino declined and the movie was ultimately helmed by Martin Campbell, starring Ryan Reynolds. The movie was a box office disaster, grossing only $220 million on an eye-watering $200 million budget. Later on, the Inglourious Basterds director stated that he wasn’t interested in directing superhero films nowadays, but he’d have jumped on it decades earlier. He said:
“There’s a little part of me that’s like, ‘Wow, if I was in my 20s, this would be the genre I’d want to specialize in.’ But they weren’t making them then, or at least not the right ones. But there also is an aspect where I’ve kind of outgrown that a little bit.”
The acclaimed director stated that even if he wanted to direct a superhero film, he would come up with his own idea as opposed to going to DC, Marvel, or any other established IPs.
Quentin Tarantino Wanted To Direct His Own Superhero Film
Almost every superhero film made nowadays consists of characters owned by DC or Marvel. The superhero genre almost has no property that isn’t a part of these two giants. And it’s not for lack of trying. Audiences are seemingly not interested in properties that don’t come out of these two companies. However, a Quentin Tarantino-directed original superhero film would certainly bring people to the theaters.
In an interview, Tarantino said, “If I were to do something like that, I would want the fun of coming up with the superhero myself.” He also reminisced and explained that if he made a Green Lantern film, he would cast an actor and not a bodybuilder. He said:
“I’d want to use my imagination and not have to fight with geeks’ memories of how this character should be and, ‘Oh, I cast an actor as opposed to a bodybuilder’ or it’s not as good as the way [DC Comics artist] Neal Adams drew him.”
While that didn’t happen and Ryan Reynolds to this day regrets doing Green Lantern, the actor hoped that he could bring Tarantino on board for Deadpool. In 2009, he told MTV that:
“You think directors for a movie like this (Deadpool) and you immediately picture [Quentin Tarantino] or somebody like that. Obviously, Tarantino is a guy that likes to direct his own material, so there’s a good chance he wouldn’t be the guy. We all have our lists of dream directors.”
Nowadays, the Kill Bill director helming a superhero project is almost impossible to imagine. But it would be glorious to see him take a shot at the superhero genre.
Source: MTV
