On this sunny St. Patrick’s Day, it seems fitting to nominate a favorite blue-collar, jade crusader for the latest entry.
THE COMIC:
Beginning in the 50’s as “Batman with a bow and arrow”, Green Arrow was later reimagined in the late 60’s by Dennis O’Neil as a passionate left-wing urban avenger.
When millionaire playboy Oliver Queen becomes stranded on a deserted island he fashions a makeshift bow that helps him hunt and survive for months of solitude. Queen soon develops a taste for crimefighting when he battles a group of smugglers using the island as a hidden base. Returning home to Star City with a new lease on life and an addiction to adrenaline and adventure, Queen takes up a secret life as the costumed crusader known as the Green Arrow.
THE MOVIE:
This one deserves an origin, whether the film tells a linear story or doles out the origin in flashbacks. GA’s introduction has a great "Cast Away"-meets-"Rambo" quality that would look great on film. The filmmakers might consider making Oliver’s Island Adventure the first act (similar to Batman Begins), and load the majority of the film with full-on Green Arrow action.
One of the harder obstacles is choosing the right villain for the film. Although evil archer Merlyn would be the most obvious choice, Green Arrow doesn’t have the most eclectic rogues’ gallery, and many of his toughest adversaries like Deathstroke and Roulette are shared antagonists of other heroes. Deadshot might be a decent choice, a competent and dangerous nemesis with a great personality who could re-appear in other DC films once they start branching out the way Marvel has.
SUGGESTED DIRECTOR(S): Lots of great potentials here. Just to name a few, it would be great to see Paul Greengrass (The Bourne series, Green Zone) take a foray into gritty superhero fare; Pierre Morel (Taken) is also riding high in the action department; and Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) could use a superhero vehicle to get back some good will.
COULD IT HAPPEN?
The character’s regular appearances on “Smallville” for the past several seasons have introduced a new legion of fans to the modern-day Robin Hood, possibly enough for launching a potential film franchise.
Green Arrow was at the center of the supervillain showcase screenplay “Escape from Supermax” (written by David Goyer and Justin Marks) which was nearly greenlit years ago. That script would almost certainly work better as a sequel.
Beyond that, there’s been very little talk of Green Arrow from DC Entertainments new management team, so it seems a film appearance from Speedy or Black Canary or a team-up with Green Lantern will have to wait. Although with lesser known DC properties like Jonah Hex and The Losers hitting the big screen momentarily, the emerald archer’s odds are looking up.
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