Warner Bros. released its first superhero blockbuster, Superman: The Movie, in 1978. The studio then took eleven years to launch a new superhero franchise via director Tim Burton's Batman. For decades, the studio refused to step outside of its Batman/Superman comfort zone when making superhero summer blockbusters. Suffice to say, Warner Bros. is a slow mover. The genre changed, though, when Marvel Studios found success with Iron Man in 2008. A charismatic, funny lead actor named Robert Downey, Jr. helped draw audiences to a lesser-known character, generating enough interest to make the film a fitting foundation for a crossover universe. Emboldened by this new reality in the market place, Warner Bros. turned to the most charismatic, traditional movie hero it could find in its DC stable: Hal Jordan. Scripting for Green Lantern began not long after Iron Man's surprising box office run. The most important ingredient the studio had to find was a leading man who could be Warner Bros.' answer to Downey. The studio found its charismatic, comedic star in Ryan Reynolds. The role of Amanda Waller, a character that does not show up in Green Lantern comics very often, was included in the film as a potential "Agent Coulson" to bridge between potential future films with other DC characters. Green Lantern wrapped principal photography in August 2010 and its screenwriters were then tapped to write a sequel and a script for a Flash movie. Warner Bros. was prepping for a DC Universe on film, but not committing to any additional projects until the studio knew Green Lantern was a success. Then the film bombed. Warner Bros.' first step outside of its sweet spot resulted in a brutal slap to the face via critical panning and box office receipts well shy of what one would desire for a $200+ million investment. All the chatter about DC films besides the ones featuring Batman and Superman ran completely silent. The would be DCU on film suffered a catastrophic blow from which it may never recover, even with Man of Steel.