'Green Lantern' Glows in New Orleans

Warner Bros. has chosen New Orleans as the new location for filming "The Green Lantern."

An official at New Orleans' newly-constructed Second Line Stages has revealed he has been contacted by producers and says "Green Lantern" production offices could be set up in town as early as this week.

"The rumors are correct," said Kevin Murphy, the manager of studio operations at the facility. "We are working out the details, and we have a nonrefundable contract to rent stage space to the production."

"It would be: paint dries on one day, they're moving in the next," he told The Times-Picayune. "It's an awesome opportunity."

The revelation follows recent confirmation that production for the superhero movie is moving out of Sydney because of the strengthening Australian dollar adding $20 million to the budget.

Production crews would move into the New Orleans facility in December and begin building sets. Filming would now start in March and continue into July or August.

If this is true, this would be Warner Bros. and D.C. Comics' second collaboration in New Orleans in less than a year. This past summer, the supernatural Western "Jonah Hex" shot there, with Josh Brolin playing the title role of a disfigured Civil War-era gunslinger. Megan Fox, John Malkovich and Michael Shannon helped round out the cast of the film which is slated for release on June 18, 2010.

It's unclear if that experience helped Warner Bros. settle on Louisiana for "The Green Lantern," but it probably didn't hurt: On the set in the closing days of that earlier shoot, "Jonah Hex" producer Andrew Lazar and executive producer Ravi D. Mehta had only positive things to say about their time in Louisiana.

Other locations would also be used for shooting, but nothing has been confirmed. Ryan Reynolds is in the title role but no other cast members have yet been named. Martin Campbell ("Casino Royale") is set to direct the movie, due out on June 17, 2011.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: The Geek Files, NOLA