We endured a barrage of amazing BATMAN VS SUPERMAN news yesterday, as we now know Gal Gadot will play Wonder Woman, a yet-to-be cast actor will portray Flash, and a Marvel Actor is sought for a villain whether it’s Lex Luthor, Doomsday, or Metallo. Well, as it sounds like this Zack Snyder joint is slowly evolving into a smaller Justice League movie (sprinkling enough DC characters into the film as to be a distraction, but not enough to be a proper super team-up), I thought I’d remind everyone about the state of Green Lantern.

Yeah, yeah… I’m well aware that a few of you (maybe most of you) hated that 2011 sci-fi flick. I’ll admit, Ryan Reynolds wasn’t the greatest casting choice, the direction was a bit muddled, and the CGI suffered from George Lucas Disease (pretty, but in no way believable). Still, had that film been released in 2002, alongside such nostalgia drenched fare as Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man and Men In Black 2, I’m convinced it would have been DC’s biggest blockbuster. Green Lantern was comparable in plot and character to those two successful movies from the previous decade. It only suffered because it recycled overused superhero tropes, which had been thoroughly worn out over the past decade of heavy industry abuse. Too, it relied on the sheer spectacle of superpowers to engage its audience, and as far as spectacles go, it wasn’t even that spectacular.

But the whole point of the matter is… it wasn’t THAT bad. More so than that, through sheer brute force it accomplished one of the most difficult feats of comic book adaptations: an origin film. With that dirty work complete, and a solid actor in Ryan Reynolds at the helm, DC can accomplish anything with the character, like throwing his iteration of Green Lantern in Batman VS Superman, or at least the Justice League movie.

We few fanboys know how incredible the Corps is. Without sounding too absurd, the Lanterns could easily rival Star Wars as the best Science-Fantasy franchise, provided they have the right director, writers, and producers. I see no reason why DC should muddle their cinematic universe by rebooting the franchise. Sure, I’d love to see Idris Elba in the role. As a matter of fact, I would love to see Idris Elba in any leading superhero role (I swear he would’ve been the greatest Batman). But I value continuity over actor preference, so I’d rather Ryan Reynolds return.

And he could. He signed a multi-picture contract with Warner Bros., who planned to produce a Justice League movie following the success of Green Lantern. And make no mistake, after final box office numbers, merchandise, and dvd sales, Green Lantern was successful. Even though the public is indifferent towards Reynolds’s Hal Jordan, and some are down right hateful towards him, he’s a much safer choice than rebooting the entire franchise.

I personally believe Ryan Reynolds is perfectly capable of making an amazing Green Lantern sequel. How many terrible superhero movies have we endured in order to see a solid sequel? X-Men Origins: Wolverine sucked great big donkey balls, but The Wolverine (ignoring that terrible third act) was a fine sequel. I’m sure, given the right cast and crew, Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern could achieve the same.

And he’s game for it. We haven’t heard any updates from Reynolds following Ben Affleck’s casting as Batman, but he commented on the prospect of a Justice League movie in March. Although a bit hesitant, he stated:

“At this point I have very little interest in joining that, but as always, a great script and good director could turn that around.”

Well, I’m sure a giant paycheck from Warner Bros. and the threat of lawsuit after breaching your multi-film contract would be a good enough incentive. Zack Snyder’s also created an incredibly fun film in Man of Steel, and I’m sure Batman vs Superman will be even better with Academy Award Winner Ben Affleck’s guidance. The next decade of DC films are built on pillars that guarantee success. Honestly, an director with amazing visual skills in Zack Snyder teaming up on the same project as a great story teller like Ben Affleck… I really don’t see how Ryan Reynolds WON’T return.