The Bullpen

[David]

With Ryan Reynolds' emerald abs casting a glow over theater audiences everwhere this weekend, Warner Bros. will unveil its first big superhero franchise since Superman and Batman. Behind much of the story is their geek secret weapon, Geoff Johns.

Anointed Chief Creative Officer in February, 2010, and a coproducer of the film, the 38-year-old self-described "Green Lantern guru" is a fanboy-approved comic book, TV, animation, and video game, writer. He even co-owns a comic book store near his L.A. home.

It's his job to modernize DC comic characters and ensure they remain true to the DC Universe mythology, a key part of the studio's ambitious new plan to mine its DC comics library and transform it into more Marvel-ous revenue.

. . .

Is there a Green Lantern trilogy planned?

There are definitely plans for more Green Lantern films. I would hope it's more than a trilogy. I think Green Lantern has a lot of movies in it, a lot of stories to tell. The Flash, which I wrote the treatment for, is also in development, but I can't say much more than that.

Other than Green Lantern, what are your duties as Chief Creative Officer?

You know, I just never get used to the title! As CCO, I oversee the creative development of film, television, animation, interactive, and licensing with the other Warner Bros. divisions. My team and I go through the libraries of DC and Vertigo, which is the more mature brand, sort of like the HBO of comics. We pick out things we think could be live-action shows, films, animated series, or direct-to-video. Then we brainstorm with various Warner Bros. and Franchise Management divisions. That's essentially what we do all day

. . .

Do you only focus on stories and characters you've revitalized, or also consider older story lines for other media?

There are stories throughout the decades that work really well. There are also really great characters. For instance, there's a character called Hourman. He's been around for 60 years, but has never had his own series. So we develop him in house a little bit more, and then we talk to the people at Warner Television about what their take could be. Raven, who is part of the Teen Titans, is another character we've explored. Raven's very well-known and loved, but she's always been part of a team. You've seen Rosemary's Baby? Picture that kid grown up. So it's a really interesting mythology to delve into. Vertigo has a comic, 100 Bullets, which is a great story if you like crime comics, and it's going to be a great TV show. Vertigo comics tend to create their own worlds, so we can see clearly what each story line is, and consider them for television or film.

. . .

What do you regard as the DC Comics style?

These stories have a great message of hope and inspiration. There's absolute darkness in the universe. There are villains who do horrible things that you want to contrast with the bright hope, excitement, and adventure of the heroes. But at the core, it's a place where the heroes are embraced.

Read the full interview here.

[mguy1977]

Well w/ GL making nearly 70 million dollars opening weekend worldwide & production + ads being 300 million. I have serious doubts on a GL2 anytime soon.  I plan on seeing GL sometime this week.  

Matthew