In 1977, George Lucas introduced us all to a galaxy far, far away with "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope". He stunned the world with alien worlds, bizzare creatures, a howling Wookie, a Princess in need of rescuing, a youthful kid looking for adventure, and an invisible source of power called The Force. He gave us lightsabers, space ships, and one of the most diabolically evil characters ever created in fiction and spawned 2 sequels and 3 prequels. And through all this, he redefined the science fiction genre. Then, in 1986, Tony Scott put us inside the cockpit with Maverick in "Top Gun". We were shown not only the mechanics and strategy in becoming a Top Gun pilot in the U.S. Navy, but also the fearlessness and courage it takes to be a Top Gun pilot. If you were to combine "Top Gun" and all the Star Wars movies, you would create the PERFECT Green Lantern movie.
First, look at the Maverick character in "Top Gun". In this movie, he is a young, cocky fighter pilot who is unpredictable, dangerous, and "unsafe", according to Iceman. It is revealed throughout the movie that Maverick flies the way he does because he's trying to live up to his late father's reputation. Maverick's flight partner, Goose, even goes so far to say, "It's like you're up there flying against a ghost." Maverick (Tom Cruise) walks around knowing that he's the s#!^, as if he's untouchable. He conveys a fearlessness, not only in his attitude towards his fellow pilots and superior officers, but even in his flying. He pulls risky, dangerous manuvers and does it with a big smile on his face.
Now, if you look at the character of Hal Jordan in the comics, he is a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He performs dangerous manuvers and has a track record of destroying planes and disregarding orders. As seen in Green Lantern: Secret Origin, he was ordered to test the limitations of a new plane at Mach 1.... He pushed it a hair past Mach 3 point 2. His fellow pilot expresses his concerns to him at a bar, yet Hal keeps a very laid back attitude and shows that he's not afraid of his superiors. Part of the reasoning behind Hal's attitude, cockiness, and fearlessness is that fact that he witnessed his father sacrifice his life while flying a plane to save the people in the crowd. Witnessing his father die and living his worst fear, Hal had nothing left to fear.
If you look at Hal Jordan and Maverick side by side, they are essentially the same person. Both are cocky pilots who disregard their fellow pilots concerns and disregard the orders of their superiors. Both lost their fathers, who in turn were both pilots, as well. Both Hal and Maverick are fearless. And as an added bonus, both wear the same kind of leather pilot's jacket, haha.
Now, look at the 6 Star Wars movies. The Jedi are a force of intergalactic peace keepers who use a mystical field called The Force, from which they draw their special powers of telekinesis, mind manipulation, heightend reflexes, etc... They also use laser swords called lightsabers. The Jedi Temple is located on the planet Corrasant. Jedi are chosen by the Jedi Order based on their Medichlorian count, organisms inside their cells that allow them to tap into The Force. Yoda is a short, green alien who is the most powerful and wise Jedi in the Order. Anakin Skywalker was considered the Chosen One and arguably the most powerful Jedi ever next to Yoda. Anakin later gave into his fears of his wife and children dying and became seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. Completely overcome with fear and anger, he became Darth Vader, the most dangerous villain the galaxy had ever seen. Years later, his son Luke saw the good in his father and Anakin (as Darth Vader) redeemed himself by sacrificing himself and killing the Emperor and fulfilling the Prophecy of the Chosen One and once again became the greatest Jedi ever known.
Now, look at Green Lantern. The Green Lantern Corps, like the Jedi Order, is an intergalactic police force that serves and protects the 3600 known sectors of the Universe. The Green Lantern Corps is headed by short, blue aliens called the Guardians of the Universe. The Green Lantern Corps precinct/headquarters is on the planet Oa. Oa also houses the Central Power Battery of the Green Lantern Corps. The Central Power Battery acts as a conduit that collects the emotion of Willpower from all sentient beings throughout the galaxy. Green Lanterns use their power rings to harness the emerald Willpower collected from the Battery, and they can generate/create any construct they can picture in their minds. A Green Lantern is chosen by 2 factors: The ability to overcome great fear and if they have great willpower. When Hal Jordan first became a Green Lantern, he quickly became known as "The Greatest Green Lantern". He was fearless and his constructs were some of the most powerful the Corps had ever seen. But when his home town of Coast City was destroyed, Hal allowed himself to feel great fear, allowing the Fear entity known as Parallax to possess his body and he turned evil. He destroyed the Green Lantern Corps and absorbed all the power within the Central Power Battery. From then on, he became known as the villain Parallax. It wasn't until years later that the last known Green Lantern Kyle Rayner saw the good in Hal Jordan. Hal sacrificed himself to reignite Earth's sun. A couple years after that, Kyle journied into the sun to retrieve Hal's body and revived it. Hal then completely redeemed himself by taking back his ring, defeating Sinestro, overcoming the fear entity Parallax in its raw form, and taking back his place as an officer in the Green Lantern Corps.
The parallels between Green Lantern and Star Wars are uncanny. The Guradians of the Universe = Yoda. Jedi Order = Green Lantern Corps. Lightsabers = Power Rings. Anakin Skywalker = Hal Jordan. Luke Skywalker = Kyle Rayner. The planet Corrasant = the planet Oa. Not to mention, both Jedi and GLs have to be able to overcome fear and both are chosen based on their medichlorian count (Jedi) or their Willpower (GLs).
So, in my mind, if you start the Green Lantern movie out like "Top Gun", then start to work in "Star Wars", you will hit the nail on the head. If you don't agree with me, I dare you to watch "Top Gun" and tell me that Maverick IS NOT Hal Jordan or watch "Star Wars" and tell me that they're not the Green Lantern Corps. Both Top Gun and Star Wars are such heavily beloved movies and still remain all time classics for a lot of people. With the amount of people who loved "Top Gun" combined with all the fans and lovers of the "Star Wars" franchise, there is no way that "Green Lantern" can possibly fail.
Just as a quick side note: Had Tom Cruise been 24 now (that's how old he was in Top Gun), then I would say that he IS Hal Jordan. He'd fit the role perfectly and he'd definately be able to pull off the iconic look of Green Lantern in the suit.
Do you guys agree with me that Top Gun + Star Wars = all the material the directors and producers need to look to for making a great Green Lantern movie? And would you agree that Tom Cruise at 24 or even a couple years older would have made the best Hal Jordan? Post in the usual place.