If it wasn’t for the multi-billion dollar box office success and widespread acclaim that greeted Fox’s two Deadpool movies, then Ryan Reynolds would have held an unwanted reputation for being an actor who exclusively starred in terrible comic book adaptations.
He might have been the best thing in it as Hannibal King, but Blade: Trinity was still the worst entry in the trilogy by far, earning the weakest reviews and making the least money out of the three. X-Men Origins: Wolverine, meanwhile, may have introduced Reynolds as Wade Wilson, but Hugh Jackman’s solo debut is regarded as one of the lowest points in the mutant back catalogue, while the third act butchered Deadpool beyond all recognition.
Of course, then there’s Green Lantern, which is still the butt of many jokes a decade later, not to mention one of the biggest commercial duds in the history of cinema, and R.I.P.D. was deservedly panned for being an unimaginative and derivative hybrid of Ghostbusters and Men in Black, becoming another major box office bomb.
Luckily, Reynolds has put all that behind him thanks to the Merc with a Mouth, but there were rumors making the rounds last year that he was being eyed to play Hawkman in BFF Dwayne Johsnon’s Black Adam. Of course, that didn’t turn out to be the case, but new fan art from BossLogic imagines how he could have looked as Carter Hall, which you can check out below.
Aldis Hodge will suit up as the winged superhero in Black Adam instead, and he’s arguably a much better fit for the part. After all, it’s been a while since Reynolds played a character that wasn’t largely an extension of his well-established persona, which probably would’ve made him all wrong for Hawkman.