Remember Green Lantern? After tons of superhero flicks and Ryan Reynolds’ turn to Marvel as Deadpool, the 2011 film is a distant memory for many of us. But the actor isn’t going to let himself live it down. He’s already called out the role in Deadpool 2’s hilarious end-credit scene, and advised a fan against it when it was available to rent for a mere 99 cents last week. And now he’s mentioned the film during a commencement speech for his alma mater. In his words:
Some of you might consider me successful. I don't know. Some of you may have seen Green Lantern.
Classic Ryan Reynolds. The guy doesn't mind making fun himself especially when it comes to Green Lantern. The film centering on DC’s Hal Jordan was critically panned and flopped hard at the box office with a $219 million worldwide budget against a reported $200 million production budget. On the flip side, the actor met his wife Blake Lively on the set of the film and later went on to become one of the most sought after stars in Hollywood.
So he really can’t complain about Green Lantern. But the Free Guy actor just can’t stop referencing it at his own expense when joking around. Ryan Reynolds made the comment in a video commencement address to the Class of 2020 of his high school Kitsilano Secondary School in British Columbia, Canada. Check out the entire address below:
It’s not exactly your typical graduation speech, is it? The 43-year-old actor spent the four-minute address to joke a bit about one of the teachers there that was a good friend of his in high school, saying he was planning on setting up a money laundering cartel before scoring the job at his own alma mater.
The key takeaway (or “chestnut of wisdom” as he calls it) during Ryan Reynolds’ speech was for the students graduating to practice compassion and empathy in their lives. He talked about how showing empathy throughout his career allowed him to go far in life and is a continuing value he tries to uphold. The actor also vowed he would send each of them a large pizza from his favorite Italian joint in the area to offer his congratulations to the kids.
During these unprecedented times, many high school students do not get to receive their diplomas in physical ceremonies, so Ryan Reynolds speech is a little treat for the Class of 2020. The actor has been giving back to the cause left and right, already donating $1 million to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada with Blake Lively and temporarily stalling a long-standing feud with Hugh Jackman to team up for a noble cause.
Ryan Reynolds isn’t the only one making fun of Green Lantern either. Taika Waititi (yes, the guy who just signed on to make a Star Wars film) was also in the movie back in the day and loves to pretend he hasn’t heard of the movie.
Ryan Reynolds will star next in Free Guy with Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer coming December 11, 2020.
