Tomorrow marks the first official day of filming for director Martin Campell's long-awaited 3D Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan and Mark Strong as Sinestro. The film has been in pre-production in New Orleans for several weeks and the first scene will be filmed tomorrow and through the 17th on location at the Old Point Bar, according to OnLocationVacations. DC's CCO Geoff Johns recently visited the set and praised both actors, saying "Ryan IS Hal, and Mark Strong is going to be a brilliant Sinestro." It's hard not to be excited for the movie with such awesome casting, including Peter Sarsgaard as Jordan's rival Hector Hammond, Blake Lively as Carol Ferris/Star Sapphire, and Tim Robbins as Senator Hammond. Ryan Reynolds will also play Deadpool in the upcoming X-Men spinoff of the same name, and Mark Strong most recently starred as Lord Blackwood opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Sherlock Holmes. Green Lantern is slated for release on June 17th, 2011. Hit the jump for character info and some more Green Lantern history.
In case you aren't familiar with Green Lantern, there's a ton of backstory to the character. The first thing to know is that Green Lanterns are like intergalactic police, and they get their abilities from power rings that have to be charged every 24 hours according to Wikipedia. The first Green Lantern was Alan Scott, an engineer who created the first of the magic rings. Hal Jordan is the second Green Lantern. Jordan was a second-generation test pilot who was given the ring by Abin Sur, an alien who chose him because of his strength and honesty. Hal Jordan was a founder of the Justice League of America and was one of two Green Lanterns that patrolled the area surrounding Earth.
Hit this link for a lot more on the character.
