Before we dive in, let's recap what we know about casting for Green Lantern so far.  Ryan Reynolds has long been cast as Hal Jordan.  Gossip Girl's Blake Lively was hired to play Carol Ferris, the leading lady of the film.  Peter Sarsgaard is in talks to play the villanous Dr. Hector Hammond.  It was rumored that Jackie Earle Haley was attached to play Sinestro, another Green Lantern villain, but that appears to be incorrect.

In October, Haley told Steve that he didn't know anything about the film, and now director Martin Campbell confirms Haley's lack of involvement to MTV with a new casting announcement: Mark Strong, whom we recently conducted a two part interview with, is in negotiations to play Sinestro.  Look for Campbell's comments on Strong, Haley, and the inclusion of the comic characters Kilowag, Tomar-Re, and Abin Sur after the jump.

On Strong's character likeness:

"In fact, we're in negotiations with Mark Strong to play Sinestro. He's not only a wonderful actor, but he looks like Sinestro. If you look up old pictures of Sinestro, he's very like him."

On the Jackie Earl Haley rumor:

"The Jackie Earle Haley thing, somebody told me about it this morning; I had never heard it before in my life."

On the appearances of characters from the comics:

"Well, Kilowag will be [in it]. Tomar-Re is in it. Sinestro is in it. Abin Sur is in it. All the origin people. Carol [Ferris], of course, who will be played by Blake Lively. All the main characters are there, and it's a complex story. The origin story of Green Lantern is complex, probably one of the most complex, which makes it a challenge to get it right."

This film adds another potential franchise to Strong's resume; he was in Sherlock Holmes this winter and will next be seen in Kick-Ass in March, with Pixar's John Carter of Mars up next on his production schedule.