Martin Campbell won't return for a Green Lantern sequel

On the scale of lameness, Warner Brothers' marketing push for Green Lantern ranks probably just below the kick off to Newt Gingrich's Presidential campaign run. The first trailer stunk, and then we didn't see anything for a long time while the studio licked it's wounds. The budget blew up while special effects were hastily tacked on. And let's not forget the bunch of really awful, grade school quality posters and images that kept cropping up. It wasn't pretty. But that all changed a couple months back. The trailers look fantastic, and whatever loot they poured into the effects appears to have paid off. Unlike the other superhero movies we'll see this summer, Green Lantern is the one that has the potential to be the most astounding visually thanks to the number of unique planets and creatures. Whether it ultimately succeeds or not remains to be seen, but one thing we can probably count on is that director Martin Campbell won't be around.

Last month Campbell hinted that he might not come back. He tends to take years away from a project before jumping back in. He did the same thing with both James Bond and the Zorro movies. During a press conference with reporters to hype Green Lanter, Campbell confirmed that he'll be stepping down...

Campbell: “I’m going to do a little film next. I don’t know what I’m going to do, having just finished this one.”

So it sounds like he wasn't pushed into signing one of those multi-film deals. WB has a couple of Green Lantern sequels already in the planning stages, but ultimately it's going to depend on how well the film does this weekend. We'll be checking it out this Wednesday and of course our reviews will be up on the site this coming Friday morning, and also this Sunday on Punch Drunk Critics Live! [Superhero Hype]