Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s Sweet Connection to Green Lantern: Why Their Son Olin Loves It

Ryan Reynolds’ youngest son, Olin, may just have the best taste in movies for a two-year-old—especially when it comes to his favorite film. At the 2025 TIME100 Summit in New York, Reynolds shared a heartwarming tidbit about his little one’s top movie pick, and it just so happens to be Green Lantern, the 2011 film where Reynolds starred as the superhero Hal Jordan. While Reynolds has often described Green Lantern as one of the less successful entries in his career, it seems his son has a different view.

“It’s my son’s favorite movie, he’s 2,” Reynolds revealed during the event. “It’s just everyday, you’re like, ‘Oh, I need to heal this, I see.’” The actor’s candid reflection on his son’s fondness for the film adds a personal and humorous touch to his thoughts on the project, reminding him of its enduring connection to his family.

Reynolds and his wife, actress Blake Lively, met while filming Green Lantern in 2010. The pair played love interests in the DC Comics film, and their real-life romance blossomed soon after. They married in 2012 and have since built a loving family, with four children: James, 10, Inez, 8, Betty, 5, and Olin, 2. Their bond was born from a friendship that developed during the film’s production, and Reynolds fondly recalled that the early days of their relationship were a series of awkward but memorable moments.

“We were buddies for a long time, which I think is the best way to have a relationship, to start as friends,” Reynolds shared during a 2016 Deadpool special on SiriusXM’s Entertainment Weekly Radio. He added, “About a year after Green Lantern had come and gone and we were both single, we went on a double date… and it was like the most awkward date for the respective parties because we were just like fireworks coming across.”

Despite the awkwardness, the couple quickly realized they were meant to be, and they’ve been together ever since, building a family and a career that continues to thrive.

In addition to his personal connection to Green Lantern, Reynolds reflected on the valuable lessons he learned during its production. “I learned all the most amazing lessons I could ever have in the creative space from that movie,” he explained at the TIME100 event. He pointed to the importance of constraint in creativity, something he internalized while working on the film, though he admits he didn’t fully grasp it at the time. Reynolds explained, “Too much money, too much time, wrecks creativity. It just murders it. And constraint is the greatest creative tool you could possibly have.”

Reynolds also highlighted his frustrations with the emphasis on spectacle over character during the film’s production. “I remember suggesting, we could write a scene in the movie where people talk… It doesn’t cost anything,” he recalled. But he quickly learned that the priority was on visual effects and spectacle, not the characters or their stories. Looking back, Reynolds sees Green Lantern as a defining moment in shaping his career perspective, ultimately leading to the creation of his production and marketing company, Maximum Effort.

It’s clear that Reynolds’ experiences on Green Lantern—both personal and professional—have shaped his journey, and now, years later, it seems his son’s love for the film has brought everything full circle. While Green Lantern may not have been a hit with critics or audiences, for Reynolds, it holds a special place in his heart—and in his family’s history.