Chris Pine To Go From Kirk to Green Lantern? — Maybe Not

Could Chris Pine be beaming from one high profile genre movie to another? Today the Internet has been abuzz with rumors that Star Trek’s new Kirk may be the lead in Warner Brother’s new Green Lantern movie. However, there is a new report that says the rumors are not true, more below.

 

Pine 2nd Trek star to be rumored as green ring bearer
Warner Brothers first announced a new live-action movie based on the DC Green Lantern comics back in 2007. More recently things have heated up with the announcement that Casino Royale director Martin Campbell will helm the film and they set a release date (December   17, 2010), with cameras rolling in September. The next big question was who will play Hal Jordon, the fighter pilot who, after getting a ring of power from some aliens, becomes the ‘Green Lantern’ and protector of Earth. A few names have been floating around to take the lead but nothing has yet to be officially announced. Just a few weeks ago Latino Review reported that Star Trek’s new Chekov Anton Yelchin (who is also in the new Terminator) was under consideration. However Yelchin soon denied this.

And today the name getting all the buzz was another Star Trek actor, Chris Pine. It started this morning when IESB reported that Pine was the top of a short list of actors. Later on Latino Review backed them up, and reporting that their source says Pine had been offered the role.  However this evening Collider is reporting the IESB and LR stories "are just NOT true." Collider’s Steve Weintraub also notes that they were also quick on the ball to quash Latino Review’s Yelchin rumor, and it is the same source telling them the Pine rumors are not true.

TrekMovie cannot confirm or debunk any of this. However it is noteworthy that just last week Collider had an exclusive interview with Green Lantern producer Donald DeLine.  I also have to agree with Frosty at Collider that Internet casting rumors are annoying. Remembering back to when the Star Trek movie was being cast, this site was running casting rumor debunks on a weekly basis, sometimes more than that. Chris Pine was recently honored as "a star of tomorrow" and so his name will get added to all sorts of projects. It is possible this one is true, but for now it is looking less likely.

TrekMovie.com contributor, and editor of GreenLanternFilm.net, Ed Gross can’t confirm the rumor either, but he had this to say about Pine possibly taking on the role:

Green Lantern has become one of DC’s hippest and most popular characters thanks to the efforts of writer Geoff Johns, and Chris Pine is about to relaunch Captain Kirk in the new Star Trek. Truth be told, given what we’ve seen of Pine as Kirk, it’s a pretty easy buy that he could star in both franchises. In a lot of ways, Kirk and Hal Jordan are men of a similar ilk and Chris looks like he can pull them both off.

Ed also has an article up on Pine and Green Lantern up at his site, which includes this cool illustration by Tom Holtkamp.


Green Kirk?

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Jackie Earl Haley should be the Guy Gardner Green Lantern

CORRECTION: Green Lantern is published by DC Comics, not Marvel.

First!

Well, I must say, this is a shock. I hope the rumor is not true. Chris Pine has a lot of Star Trek to do!

I take back that first from above.

Although I still need to watch the movie to decide if Pine is a worthy Kirk, I think he’d be fine for the GL. That rumor about Yelchin made me cringe; he would’ve been a poor choice.

Good actor! Good idea! If each franchise cranks out a movie every other year, he can alternate back and forth! Suh-weet!!

The rumors are fun when readers speculate, but when “news” sites irresponsibly throw stuff out there just to get hits, i agree, it’s really annoying. Ironically for those sites, I don’t pay them any mind until I see what TrekMovie has to say about it here. Anthony, you’ve maintained your credibility throughout the life of this website, and in the long run you’ll enjoy a much more loyal readership.

I can definitely see him as Green Lantern. Anyone who’s seen Smokin’ Aces knows Pine can act.

This seams kind of harsh, but I would like Pine to be a bit more of an unknown. Like Shatner was in the early years.

#9

You can’t hold back talent!

The movie is being filmed in Australia perhaps Chris Helmsworth is the star trek actor rumored to be GL?

I really don’t care if it is Pine though , i’m hearing great things about him and as a GL fan i’d like to see a good actor in the part

I just want to see him in ST : TFB ,, today !!!!

For my money, I’m completely on board with a GREEN LANTERN movie, no matter who they cast, just because Martin Campbell is a truly underrated talent. GOLDENEYE, THE MASK OF ZORRO and CASINO ROYALE are modern-day action classics in my book. Can’t wait to see what he comes up with for GL.

(PS – For what it’s worth, Pine is PERFECT for the role of Hal Jordan. Get him signed up, pronto!)

Pine will be a good GL hands down. Plus it seems that the AGENCY confirmed that the offer did go out to PINE, its just a matter of time on whether he chooses to do it or not.

I think Pine is a bit young for the role of Hal Jordan, but depending on how it’s presented, I think I can buy it.

I have done my homework. I have seen a few other Chris Pine movies to make up my mind whether I feel he can do Kirk or not. I feel he can. Hope he gets Green Lantern too. He is not only a good actor but a hunk!!

If Pine was young could you imagine Yelchin!

Anyway, I hope the new Trek doesn’t make way for a rotating cast of Kirks, Spocks, and McCoys even five to ten years, like Bond. I’ve liked the fact that Trek has stuck with their actors and chosen to do new Treks rather than rehash the same old show with a different team of actors all the time. The hitch with this reboot now is, will the actors stick with Trek and will Paramount want to continue TOS adventures ad infinitum? Trek was an old TV show and for most of their careers our beloved crew had few other options, but to rejoin the E every few years. I can easily see Pine, Quinto, Pegg, Saldana, et. al. headed for stardom, then what? Can’t deny ’em their careers. They’d be fools to drop plum roles to remain in the Trek Ghetto (no disrespect implied). If Trek ’09 goes well this is probably where this is headed. I’d hate to see it, but it is probably inevitable.

It would be interesting if he were the Green Lantern or any other superhero and there could be some sort of Heroes crossover and…. have Sylar be the archvillian that Green Lantern has to defeat. Pine and Quinto could do a series of movies together. The hip, modern version of Hope and Crosby.

Re: 18.
Yeah, but the problem with that idea is that in 300 years Pine and Quinto won’t be hip either and everyone will laugh at their outdated schtick and will be comparing them unfavorably to Rebo and Zooty (Zooty zoot zoot) or Ming the Merciless and the Blackhole Bobby.

12:

SirMartman:

You’re a chorus of one with the “ST:TFB” thing. Time to put it to bed.

. . .and you don’t even want to know what antics Ming the Merciless and Blackhold Bobby get to in their routines! ;)

Pine could totally pull off Hal Jordan. And one correction: Hal Jordan didn’t get his Power Ring from “some aliens.” He got his Power Ring from the mortally wounded Green Lantern of Sector 2814, Abin Sur.

Glad this is mere rumor. While I can certainly picture Pine in the role, probably not the wisest career move to play a second-rate comic hero.

Kirk is one thing … classic character. Green lantern is a little obscure in my opinion.

I’d rather see him take on a meaty drama than a comic book story. That would raise his credibility among non-genre folks and might bring some new demographics into the theater for future Trek movies.

But hey, I’m not his agent so what do I really know.

When that Yelchin rumor was tossed around I thought they were crazy. Not because Yelchin is young, but because he looks like a wuss. Pine is alright, getting closer to the mark, but I’d really like to see a Nathan Fillion type in that role.

Neither – it will be Greg Grunberg, breaking out from the sidekick role.

Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone ;-)

From what I’ve read, WB wants a young actor (age 30 or less) for the part, obviously with an eye towards a multi-picture franchise. They went that route with Superman Returns (Brandon Routh was 26 at the time) and Batman Begins (Bale was 31) so I could see them pursuing Pine as he would be the right age given that mindset.

I’m a longtime Hal Jordan/Green Lantern fan and while Pine would probably do a good job in the role, I for one have always envisioned Hal as a slightly older character relative to the other JLA members; he was certainly drawn that way for a long time, grey sideburns and all. Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. have shown with Iron Man that you can go with an older actor as the lead for one of these movies and still have him be a viable franchise player. Hopefully WB, the producers and director Martin Campbell will remember that fact when they do make their casting decision.

Several people have suggested Jon Hamm as Hal; I’ve never seen his work myself but based on some pics I could see him as a Hal Jordan in his mid-to-late 30s.

22# Pine could totally pull off Hal Jordan. And one correction: Hal Jordan didn’t get his Power Ring from “some aliens.” He got his Power Ring from the mortally wounded Green Lantern of Sector 2814, Abin Sur.

And Abin Sur wasn’t an alien? :-)

Pine would be an inspired choice. I would love to see him as Green Lantern!

#9 and #17 – I dig what you’re saying. Shatner IS Kirk, despite the few B movies he did and Tv shows – they didn’t get in the way of that fact. How long is Pine, if he becomes an A-Lister, going to stick with the Kirk character? Not so long, I think. So, this will lead to ANOTHER Kirk, and then ANOTHER….further watering down the character, and the franchise. But I guess it’s a bit too early to tell.

Look at it this way…

Christian Bale pulled off Batman…
now Christian Bale’s going to be John Conner.

I don’t know about you, but there’s gotta be other actors who could pull off a GL gig rather than somebody hopping franchises again.

Remember, it wasn’t too long ago that few people on this website even knew who Chris Pine was and now, only seeing bits and pieces of trailers, many on here say that he’s perfect for the part? Maybe, but I’d like to see more variety in the machine that is Hollywood.

#23 “Green lantern is a little obscure in my opinion.”

About as much as Iron Man, and that turned out pretty well. Next to Batman and Superman, GL is the DC character who has about the best backstory, one which should make for an easy hit. All the elements for a major summer blockbuster are there – a brave and handsome fighter pilot, a love story, sci-fi weaponry, and teams of good and evil intergalactic armies. This’ll be a hard one for the WB to screw up. Should be a fun movie!

#23 Green Arrow might be obscure, but not Green Lantern….

#0 Pine has referenced Harrison Ford a number of times in early interviews. Clearly that’s his role model. Ford didn’t need to do another Indy, nor be in Empire and Return… he was already going to do just fine. I’m sure Pine can handle playing Kirk every other year for a couple months and at the same time make movies like GL, or Disney fare like “The Prince Diaries”, star in the movie reimagining of “CHiPs” starring as Officer Getraer-son of Sgt. Getraer, or be the lead in a Blade Runner sequel. Sky’s the limit for him…

Green Lantern is a great deal less obscure today than five years ago, thanks mainly to Geoff Johns and the many fine artists who’ve worked with him.

This has been a gratifying run, since 2004, for a lot of us who’ve been reading GL since Hal’s introduction in the old SHOWCASE. GL fans have believed for decades that both the character and the whole space-opera-ish Green Lantern Corps had the potential to be a cornerstone and anchor for the DC line, and Johns has been proving it.

Although I have to say that my personal favorite version of Hal/GL is still found Darwyn Cooke’s “New Frontier” miniseries.

…its not east being green….

..or rather…its not easy being green…..darn typing…

Re: #11 – Then the rumor about Pine playing GL IS true! It just CAN’T be a coincidence that the Trek premiere is going to be in Australia!! :-)

Re: #26 – Tony D. – Weird you should mention Jon Hamm. I watched him on “30 Rock” last night, and thought, “that guy could play the Green Lantern.”

As a longtime comic book reader, I’ve long agreed with those above who say that Green Lantern has a ton of cinematic potential — sort of a “Right Stuff” meets “Star Wars” high concept flick.

Pine would be just fine, but me personally, I’d prefer a guy who could not be described as a “pretty boy” in the role. “Rugged,” and “manly” would be better.

Scott B. out.

Gil Kane always drew him as a pretty boy.

So what is this ST: TFB abbreviation meant to be?

#33 “Although I have to say that my personal favorite version of Hal/GL is still found Darwyn Cooke’s ‘New Frontier’ miniseries.”

Mine too. Hopefully the screenwriters will take a bit of inspiration from this. It was a great plot thread that Hal was branded a coward by the military because of his reluctance to kill, when in fact the more advanced aliens recognized him as “the bravest man on Earth” because he considered all life sacred. Simply great story!

#33, #39

I hope you guys have checked out the New Frontier direct to DVD movie (or better yet, the BluRay version). Since its clocks in at only 75 minutes, many of the side stories from the comic were removed or reduced to background material – blurbs on the TV or in a newspaper – but in spite of that, the show was very faithful to Darwyn Cooke’s book and even the look of it harkened strongly to the comic. Hal Jordan plays a big part in the story but, like the comic, doesn’t really don the classic GL outfit until the big climax.

There will also be a direct-to-DVD/BluRay Green Lantern movie released this July – “Green Lantern: First Flight”, an origin story featuring Hal.

As others have said, Green Lantern is about as obscure as Iron Man was prior to last year’s successful movie. I also think its ripe material for a movie adaptation, with a rich backstory and tons of interesting characters (both good and bad) to pick and choose from. If WB doesn’t drop the ball on this one it could be a really fun, kick-ass movie. As somebody who followed the comic for more years than I care to admit, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Personally, I hated the retro-conned pacifist stuff in “New Frontier”, although I loved the art.

Green Lantern was born of the “Right Stuff” era – a fearless jet-jockey based in California, when most heroes were NY based and in their real life, either work-a-day joes or millionaire playboys.

I think Pine could pull it off if he mans it up a little. I hope they avoid the wishy-washy Mr. Sensitive approach.

I also hope the movie plays out like the comic – at first he thought he was the only GL, receiving the power ring from an alien hero. Over many issues he discovered his true role as a memeber of an entire Corps or GL’s, run by the Guardians of the Universe. I hope the first movie ends with this discovery and doesn’t start out with it.

oops – “…. true role as a member of an entire Corps of GL’s…”

The only thing I like more then Star Trek, and this is by only the tiniest margin, is Green Lantern. I say YES! Pine would make an excellent Hal Jordan. He has the right look, the attitude and definitely enough presence to carry the superhero-as-leading-man element you need for ones of DC’s A Class characters.

Geoff Johns, currently writer on the Green Lantern series, and a number of other comic book writer have said that Hal Jordan is the Capt. Kirk of superheroes.

I am completely on the same page as Odkin although I like the “New Frontier” portrayal in and of itself. It wasn’t ‘classic’ Hal but it worked for the film.

AD
Barking Alien

As long as the Guardians aren’t based out of Riverside, Iowa I should be pretty intrigued…

I liked “New Frontier” partly because it placed Jordan in the era of his actual creation – along with the other superheroes of the time – in a more honest and realistic way than the stories actually *written* in those days ever could. Superhero comics of the time took place in that nebulous grey “Donna Reed Show” world as network TV did. Had bugger-all to do with what was really happening in America and the world, as those of us who actually lived through it know. Making Jordan a pacifist in the middle of that era was in fact brilliant and further illuminated just what the price of nonconformity was in those days, whether for a political outsider or a Martian or a “superhero.”

I suppose “what the price of nonconformity *might* have been” would be a more accurate phrasing, given the dearth of actual Martians actually investigated by HUAC. LOL

“actual Martians actually”

Some days the bear eats you…

RE: 3 – Dennis, Gil Kane drew EVERYBODY as a pretty boy. :-)

I still say GL should be played by an actor who looks like our collective image of what a test pilot should look like. But I confess to a seriously old school aesthetic.

Scott B. out.

Meant to say “RE: 37 – Dennis” above.

Great choice! Hal Jordan is one of my favorite’s and think Pine would do great. I know he should be a little older, but if it’s a long lasting franchise he will be older by “Green Lantern 4”.