NZ actors go intergalactic in Green Lantern Movie

Above: Temuera Morrison and Taika Waititi with the respective characters they will play in the 'Green Lantern' movie: Abin Sur and Thomas Kalmaku.

The story broke yesterday on Heat Vision, that local actors Temuera Morrison and Taika Waititi have joined the cast of the Warner Bros film 'Green Lantern', set to start filming in New Orleans under the direction of expat Martin Campbell.

Above: Green Lantern/Ryan Reynolds.

'Green Lantern' is of coarse based on the DC Comics character. Ryan Reynolds will play Hal Jordan, a test pilot who is entrusted with an alien energy power-ring. Drawing on his will power, the ring can produce any construct he can imagine, making it one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. By excepting the responsibility to wield the ring, he becomes the superhero 'Green Lantern', and is inducted into the interplanetary police force known as the Green Lantern Corps.

Temuera Morrison will play the pivotal role of Abin Sur, a dying member of the Green Lantern Corps who crashes to earth and entrusts Hal Jordan with a power ring.

Taika Waititi will play Hal Jordan's best friend Thomas Kalmaku, an Inuit engineer he works with at Ferris Aircraft. In the 60's comic he was often referred to by his nick-name: 'Pieface' (but this distasteful alias seems unlikely to appear in the film). Waititi was specifically tapped for the role after Martin Campbell saw his performance in the upcoming film 'Boy' at the Sundance Film Festival.

These are only the most recent NZ crew additions to the movie, with 'Lord of the Rings' Oscar winning production designer Grant Major (formally a cartoonist for NZ comics anthology 'Strips') already on board as art director, along with 'Rings' costume designer Nglia Dickson. In the wake of Avatar's success, 'Green Lantern' is one of many upcoming films to be released in 3D. 'Green Lantern' is set for a June 17, 2011 release.

-AK!