Ryan Reynolds is The Green Lantern

Wired says Variety says so.

Earlier Friday, it had been reported that Reynolds, Bradley Cooper and Justin Timberlake had made the final cut as Warner Bros. prepared to cast the lead in its DC Comics-based Green Lantern movie. Screen tests were reviewed by studio execs and director Martin Campbell, who earlier this month gave a thumbs-down to Michael Fassbender, Henry Cavill and Jared Leto, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Cooper is on a hot streak as a star of hit comedy The Hangover, while Reynolds did a credible job as Deadpool in Fox’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The dark horse was pop star Timberlake, who showed off some decent dramatic chops as a teen killer in Alpha Dog but has yet to anchor a tent-pole flick.

Alright, alright, enough talk about tent-poles. Let’s back up a bit. Reynolds did “a credible job as Deadpool”? How about giving Ryan credit for confidently and single-handedly salvaging X-Men Origins: Wolverine from being a total waste of green screen. Empire agrees that “Reynolds can do headstrong and cocky in his sleep.” Step back Timberlake. There’s a new go-to guy for bringing sexy back.

As already mentioned, master Bond rebooter Martin Campbell has signed on to direct, Greg Berlanti wrote the exceptional screenplay, production is set to begin next January for a June 17th, 2011 release, with a budget I’ll bet tops $200 million.

What? You wanted more story? Nope, just another gratuitous six-pack shot of Ryan Reynolds. The pairing below is Variety’s version, but where else will you find matching graphic shirtless superheros on the main page?