Geoffrey Rush Lending Voice to 'Green Lantern'

Oscar nomineeGeoffrey Rush, best known for his role in the Pirates of the Caribbean series andThe King’s Speech, is providing the voice of Tomar-Re, one of the alien heroes Ryan Reynolds encounters in this June’sGreen Lantern.

The beaked character (pictured right from thetheatrical trailer) is a scientist and a trainer of new recruits to the Green Lantern Corps., an intergalactic police force that welcomes the addition of Reynolds’ Hal Jordan in the film. The Corps runs operations on the planet Oa where Hal learned to channel and control his powers with the help of Tomar-Re and the hulkingKilowog, who, if the rumors are true, will bear the booming voice ofMichael Clarke Duncan.

With the release just over two months away, there is growing concern that Warner Bros isn’t positioning Green Lantern as a solid tentpole in a viciously competitive summer market, particularly squeezed between Marvel’sThorandCaptain Americaand two weeks after Fox’s heavily-marketedX-Men: First Class. The first trailer (and fan reactions) were lackluster at best, a level of quality addressed by head of worldwide marketing Sue Kroll to theLA Timesthis week.“Part of the reason the response to the first trailer was lukewarm was that the big-scale sequences weren’t ready to show, and we suffered for it,” Kroll said.“We can’t afford to do that again.” A new trailer is scheduled to show in front ofThorin May.

While other companies are already bombarding audiences with advertising, Warner Bros is behind the curve and learning some hard lessons about visual effects (Reynold’s suit is entirely CGI) and 3D heavy productions, especially since the studio is covering the entire budget without a financial partner to help offset the risk.“We are on a learning curve in getting 3-D materials and marketing materials on the same schedule,” said the new president of WB’s motion picture group, Jeff Robinov, who already made waves this week with his announcement of aJustice League movie and Batman reboot.“We won’t be in this position again.” Whether or not the movie and its extensive special effects will be ready for its June 17 play date isn’t the issue, it’s whether or not audiences will be interested in buying tickets to see it two months from now without the usual manufactured.

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