This could be the year of Green Lantern, and considering it’s the 50th anniversary of the first appearance of Hal Jordan, it’s about time. Warner Bros. execs are reportedly very excited to release a live-action Green Lantern film soon. Rumor has it that one of them remarked, “If we do this right, this could be our Iron Man.” To which Green Lantern scribe Geoff Johns replied, “If you do this right, this could be your Star Wars.”

No kidding. Green Lantern has been one of the luminaries of DC Comics’ superhero universe for half a century now (longer, really; respect must be paid to Earth’s first GL, Alan Scott), and as he’s protected Space Sector 2814 and beyond, he’s become the greatest Emerald Warrior of them all.
 
But before the live-action movie begins filming, fans will first be treated to an upcoming animated film that promises to deliver the origin of Hal Jordan as he trains under the wing of Sinestro—before Sinestro turns to the side of evil.
 
Green Lantern: First Flight will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray as a special two-disc set on July 28 (an advanced look is on the new Wonder Woman DVD, which is already available). Playing the voice of Green Lantern in the film is actor Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: SVU, Oz), who’s joined by Victor Garber as Sinestro, Tricia Helfer as Boodikka, and Michael Madsen as Kilowog. The movie is directed by Laura Montgomery (who also directed Wonder Woman) and written by Alan Burnett.
 
Meloni admits to not having read Green Lantern comics before, but he ended up becoming a fan of the character. “I wasn’t totally aware of him, but I was drawn to him because he’s one of the less obvious characters,” Meloni says. “I gravitate toward the less well-known superdudes.”
 
As of now, even Meloni himself hasn’t seen the animation on the movie. He and Garber recorded their lines together in a studio before any of the artwork was done on the film. “I’ve known Victor for years, and I loved working with him,” he says. “It was great reading together. He has a really velvety, strong, manly voice,” he adds, laughing. “You become a kid again. I’m doing what my five-year-old son does in his bedroom. Only I get paid for it. That makes it even more fun.” He pauses to make some sound effects of crashes and explosions, and then gives us a preview of one of the pivotal lines of the movie: “ ‘You’ve betrayed me!’ ”
 
It’s not hard to guess how that line comes about. The story of Green Lantern: First Flight follows Hal Jordan as he joins the Green Lantern Corps and is trained by Sinestro, who is a senior member of the Corps. When Hal discovers that Sinestro is actually leading a conspiracy against the entire Corps, he must battle his mentor and save the universe, all while trying to master the incredible weapon that has been placed in his hands: the power ring.
 
“A lot of it’s set in outer space, so it’ll be cool to see what they do with the planets,” Meloni says. “I kept wondering how they were going to turn what was on the page into an animated movie. The descriptions on the page sound amazing, and I really wanted to see how they’re going to draw it out. What does an intergalactic nightclub look like? It’s not done in a Star Wars-type way.”
 
Meloni says the animated movie stays largely faithful to the original Hal Jordan mythos that comic-book fans are familiar with. “I felt really comfortable with it from all that I remember about the character,” he notes. “It was the right way to go. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. If you’re a comic book fan, you fall somewhere in between rabid and obsessive, in a good way. They know the story they want: Get the guy in a situation and send him off on an adventure. This does that. There’s a brief introduction about how he gets his job. That then leads into a journey into outer space, where he’s got to save the world from evil.”
 
This was Meloni’s first foray into animation, although he says he’s a huge fan of the genre, especially Pixar’s work. And although he’s just getting into immersed in the comic-book scene with this movie, he’s excited about continuing with it. He’s already making plans to attend San Diego Comic-Con (look for Green Lantern to make a big impression there) and he’s pushing for another animated feature. As he puts it: “I’m doing everything in my power to make sure a sequel happens.”