Drew McWeeny over at Hitfix is usually on the money when it comes to casting scoops, so when The Artist Formerly Known As Moriarty tells you that Bradley Cooper may well be the man chosen to fill the Green Lantern’s ring, then you should bally well listen.
“I'm not a betting man, but if I were, I would bet that Cooper's going to be the guy,” says McWeeny. And certainly he seems to think that Cooper, just one of the young Hollywood types linked with the role, has moved beyond the friendly meeting with Green Lantern director Martin Campbell stage to the giving the wardrobe department his measurements stage.
If it’s true, then this is very good casting. Cooper has been on the verge of breaking out for a few years now, with supporting turns in the likes of Wedding Crashers, Yes Man and the TV show, Alias. But with the upcoming comedy The Hangover, he’s finally graduated to leading man status, giving a performance that is cocky, cool and confident.
And those attributes will come in handy if he’s to play Hal Jordan in the Warner Bros. movie, which is based on the DC comic book, as Jordan – who becomes the Green Lantern, essentially a super space cop entrusted with guarding Earth with the aid of his trusty powerful ring – is a cocky, cool, confident hotshot pilot type.
With filming set to start in September on the movie, it looks like Campbell will make his mind up soon. He could do a lot worse than plump for Cooper.