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Jackie Earle Haley Might Still Play Sinestro in Green Lantern?

by Alex Billington
January 14, 2010
Source: HitFix

A few days ago it was announced that Peter Sarsgaard would be playing the villain Dr. Hector Hammond in DC Comics' Green Lantern movie. It was our assumption from this news that Hammond would be the primary villain in the movie instead of someone else like Sinestro, another villain character who was in the original script and even rumored to be played by Jackie Earle Haley. Well, Drew McWeeny of HitFix wrote an interesting article yesterday suggesting that Haley may still be in Green Lantern as Sinestro, not as a secondary full-time villain, but as a more minor character who will eventually become a villain in a sequel.

"With Sinestro, don't expect him to stroll in and suddenly be pure evil in this film. And don't expect him to be onscreen for the entire movie. But unless something drastically changes, he is in the film."

So who is Sinestro and why is he such an important villain? Sinestro is the former mentor of Hal Jordan and arch-nemesis of the entire Green Lantern Corps (the intergalactic police force that patrols the farthest reaches of the universe). Sinestro was banished from the Corps for using the power of the Green Lantern to instill fear rather than combat it and was then given a yellow ring and the power of the Yellow Lanterns, the enemy of the Green Lanterns, instead. In the comics he is Hal Jordan's arch-nemesis and could kick some serious ass on screen. And that's why fans want him and that's why they're at least including him this time.

So while Warner Brothers won't confirm this news and Jackie Earle Haley is keeping quiet, it's likely we'll still see Haley as Sinestro in the movie for some amount of time. "The groundwork is being laid in the first Lantern for a much larger role for Sinestro later on if this first movie does well, and they like the idea of continuing their relationship with Haley," McWeeny says. "But if the film works, expect the sequels to dig deep, and expect the foundation to be in place already." I'm certainly hoping it works, because not only do I want a great Green Lantern movie, but I'd love to see a sequel with Sinestro. Good luck Martin Campbell!

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22 Comments

Seems like Mr. Haley is getting type-casted as a villain now.

Daniel on Jan 14, 2010

@1 you stole words right out of my mouth

PJ H on Jan 14, 2010

This is excellent news!

Antioch on Jan 14, 2010

1 & 2 he makes for a great villian.

Xerxex on Jan 14, 2010

Yeah he does...his face is just kinda the portrait of a villain. Even in the Watchmen he felt more like the bad guy...though he was crazy but yeah you catch my drift.

Cody on Jan 14, 2010

@4 He does make a great villain but it just seems that that's all he's been playing lately and I'd hate to see him become typecast. He's an all around great actor.

PJ H on Jan 14, 2010

Well he is krueger in the new Nightmare On Elm Street movie so i'm 100000 percent sure he can do this villian

zach on Jan 14, 2010

no offense but they should get someone goodlooking devilishy handsome to opposite the very handsome ryan reynolds

marion on Jan 14, 2010

I'm glad Haley is getting some work now. He may be getting typecast but it's better than not getting any work at all. That's seems to be the way H'wood works. Thanks the gods that he got his chance to shine in The Watchmen. Maybe there will be a few rom-coms and hero roles coming down the pike for him soon. Uhh, I'll skip the rom-coms.

kevjohn on Jan 14, 2010

I don't know....for some reason I can't picture Jackie Earle Haley as Sinestro.

Ron on Jan 14, 2010

Seeing how Rorsharch was a hero in Watchmen I wouldnt say he is type cast #1 you goon. Plus did you read ...in the first movie he could possibly be a mentor....a sort of good guy to train Hal Jordan...that doesnt scream villain yet...until he turns in part 2...that is a great role there and he is perfect for it.

POON on Jan 14, 2010

He wasnt a villian in Semi Pro. Dukes!!

People's Champ on Jan 14, 2010

#11 And your point is? Of the two main movie roles he has after Watchmen he is a serial killer and prisoner. If he is cast in this one as Sinestro? A villain. Not to mention that he was creepy as fuck in Little Children. Just because some of his roles aren't bad guys doesn't mean he can't be type-casted as one.

Daniel on Jan 14, 2010

Liking the fact that he isn't immediately a villain. Gives them time to develop him as a character first. Which will make him an even greater foe. Also means the won't be a live-action retread of the recent animated movie, which wasn't bad at all.

Nada Nuff on Jan 15, 2010

They'll definitely set him up as a hero in the first movie with a bit of a dark streak. The second or third movie can bring him in as a full-on villain.

SlashBeast on Jan 15, 2010

What an incompetant descriptive paragraph of Sinestro.

Colin on Jan 15, 2010

one name only HUGO WEAVING would of been perfect.

tobi,leader of the akatsuki on Jan 15, 2010

Wow never would have thought of him, he would make an amazing Sinestro!

victor on Jan 15, 2010

Rorschach was technically a hero and was, in fact, the most ethical in that Watchmen bunch. He was also a pretty purposefully violent character who seemed to enjoy hurting his criminal adversaries. He sort of defines the "dark" protagonist much more than the essentially good guy Batman ever could. I like Haley as a actor, but can't see him as Sinestro, who's always been a tall slender guy. Yeah yeah, I know about movie tricks to make JEH seem taller. Why bother? There are other actors more suited to the role. I like the idea of Hugo Weaving (who played another Alan Moore protagonist) or maybe the Persian guy who got pushed down the endless hole in 300. I think he's also in the new Spartacus series. Remember, Sinestro is purple, so color is not a factor for those concerned with it. Re: setting up the villains for the sequel in the first movie_it worked great in Superman and SM II, still two of the best superhero movies ever.

zubzwank on Jan 15, 2010

If you say that Rorschach was a hero then you clearly missed the point of the character. Rorschach was intended to be a deconstruction of the objectivist superheroes created by Steve Ditko, most notably The Question and Mr. A: the embodiment of all that is repellent about Ditko's worldview and, at the same time, all that is noble about it. Rorschach is intelligent and uncompromising to evil with absolute moral integrity, but is a completely Ax Crazy dog kicker insane brand of character as a result. He is delusional and paranoid, but sometimes properly so when no one else is. He is a loner, unfettered by society's restrictions, but an ugly person with disgusting habits and prejudices who constantly rejects those who try to help him, and so on. Far too many readers and creators overlooked his more unsavory aspects and saw him as unambiguously heroic and unambiguously cool. Alan Moore is known to deeply regret this; he never intended for Rorschach to be a role model and is reportedly disgusted when he receives fan-mail containing variations of the sentiment "Our society needs people like Rorschach."

SlashBeast on Jan 16, 2010

#20, note that I said "technically a hero" and then noted his sociopathic tendencies. Note also that I said he committed violence (up to and including murder apparently) which he clearly enjoyed. Since Rorshach: punished established criminals (aka "bad guys"); belonged to a "superhero" team; was a coldly ethical individual with a singular moral code, I think he "technically" qualifies as a hero, albeit, not the unambiguously "good" kind we were accustomed to encountering, up to that point in comic book history*. I tried to convey that idea, too, perhaps poorly. Perhaps it's my fault, but...Slashbeast, YOU missed the point of that part of my posting. * in other early media, like pulps and radio, there were "mystery men" predecessors like the Shadow and especlally the Spider whose innate "goodness" was somewhat ambiguous and whose negative tendencies were directed against definitively "bad" people, i. e., criminals. The Question, Rorshach, even the original conception of Batman were derived from/influenced by these characters.

zubzwank on Jan 16, 2010

^ Shut you mouth you product of incest or I'll mutilate your genitals. If you say that Rorschach was a hero then you clearly missed the point of the character. Rorschach was intended to be a deconstruction of the objectivist superheroes created by Steve Ditko, most notably The Question and Mr. A, the embodiment of all that is repellent about Ditko's worldview and, at the same time, all that is noble about it. Rorschach is intelligent and uncompromising to evil with absolute moral integrity, but is a completely Ax Crazy dog kicker insane brand of character as a result. He is delusional and paranoid, but sometimes properly so when no one else is. He is a loner, unfettered by society's restrictions, but an ugly person with disgusting habits and prejudices who constantly rejects those who try to help him, and so on. Far too many readers and creators overlooked his more unsavory aspects and saw him as unambiguously heroic and unambiguously cool. Alan Moore is known to deeply regret this; he never intended for Rorschach to be a role model and is reportedly disgusted when he receives fan-mail containing variations of the sentiment "Our society needs people like Rorschach."

SlashBeast on Nov 24, 2010

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