Warner Bros. has narrowed down the choices for the star of its Green Lantern movie, and considering the three candidates have been publicly named, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, I’m thinking the studio should let the fans decide. Put the screen tests up online, allow us to ask a few questions of each of the eligible bachelors actors and then permit us to pick our favorite as though it were some kind of movie-casting version of The Dating Game.

In a way, we, the moviegoers, will end up entering a long relationship with the person put in the role of Hal Jordan, aka Green Lantern, and we don’t want this to be the old-fashioned arranged-courtship sort of ritual we typically get from Hollywood. It didn’t work for the last Superman movie, and many of us aren’t even that happy with the current Batman. Warner Bros. needs to learn from its mistakes and embrace democracy.

So, who should it be? The runners-up are: Bradley Cooper; Ryan Reynolds; and Justin Timberlake.

If you need help making up your mind, check out what the film bloggers have to say after the jump. I’m sitting this one out due to my unfamiliarity with the superhero, but I’d be curious to see how Timberlake would do in such a role.

• Paul DeBenedetto at Wednesday’s Child seems to be into the Timberlake idea:
  

  The speculation continues as to who will play Hal Jordan in the upcoming Green Lantern film (call me crazy but I don’t mind Justin Timberlake as an actor.)

• Lane Brown at Vulture also recognizes Timberlake’s acting talent:
  

  So far, the geek reaction to JT’s potential casting has been predictably negative, but we’ll give him credit — his acting was not the worst part of The Love Guru, Southland Tales, or Black Snake Moan.

• Erik Davis at SciFi Squad is also curious about Timberlake, but a poll on the site shows Cooper is currently in the lead as reader’s choice:
  

  Honestly, out of [Cooper and Timberlake] I think I’d pick Timberlake, simply because he’s a giant wild card and why not take the chance? Timberlake would be the smartest movie for the studio, who’d no doubt want all of his fans to turn out for the film, and speaking as someone who doesn’t really care about this particular character, I say Timberlake is where it’s at.

• Jeff Labrecque at Entertainment Weekly’s PopWatch itemizes Timberlake’s qualifications, while the site’s poll shows him lagging behind the neck-and-neck favorites, Cooper and Reynolds:
  

  Justin Timberlake
  * Can probably moonwalk from galaxy to galaxy, green ring or no green ring.
  * Not intimidated by the idea of wearing tights.
  * But extensive Green Lantern shoot could interfere with SNL hosting duties.

• Elisabeth Rappe at Cinematical likes Cooper, but she makes a strong case for Timberlake anyway:
  

  The most unlikely choices have consistently worked for superhero roles, and Timberlake could shock everyone. Besides, it’s not that hard to see — he’s got the cockiness of a test pilot, the charisma of a superhero, the physicality for the stuntwork, and the cleft chin. He’s proved to be a capable actor, and I really think time and experience could make him into a very good one.

• Maura at Idolator wonders if Timblerlake would actually do it:
  

  Whether or not Timberlake might take time out of his busy schedule of writing about golf and trying to save Saturday Night Live from Kristen Wiig to be in a big splashy Hollywood epic is certainly something to ponder (especially since it’s now been almost three years since FutureSex/LoveSounds came out, ahem).

• Sean at Film Junk focuses on who shouldn’t be cast:
  

  Wow, Justin Timberlake? Really? I do actually think the guy has some acting talent after his performances in Alpha Dog, Southland Tales and Black Snake Moan (let’s just leave The Love Guru out of this). But it should be pretty obvious that if you cast a pop star as the lead of a comic book movie, you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle against the fans. He’d have to be pretty damn amazing in that role to win people over.

• Rodney at The Movie Blog thinks its just not Timberlake’s time yet:
  

  I would sooner see an actor in the role, and not a singer who is aspiring to be. Not to say that he couldn’t break that mold like some singers have (and I do believe Justin could be one of them) but I just don’t see it yet. Let him do some more supporting roles before asking him to carry something like this on his own.

• Alex Billington at First Showing is against Timberlake and disqualifies Reynolds. His real first choice is Chris Pine, but here’s his ranking of the three:
  

  Out of the finalists: Justin Timberlake does not seem like the right fit, he’s not a superhero kind of guy; Ryan Reynolds is a great actor, but he just can’t be Deadpool and Hal Jordan; Bradley Cooper is known more for comedy, but he’s not bad.

• Mark Lisanti at Movieline weighs each actor’s strengths and weaknesses, and Cooper’s cons seem to outweigh his pros:
  

  Cooper’s effortless mega-smarm, which has served him well in developing a career as the weasely guy flawed protagonists must punch to complete their character arcs, might be an obstacle in a mainstream superhero vehicle. Indeed, just last summer Hancock earned $227 million with an ostensibly hard-edged hero, but Will Smith’s inherent cuddliness made his attempted misanthropy super-adorable.

• Rob Hunter at Film School Rejects sees Cooper as the favorite:
  

  His biggest drawback would have been a lack of recognition among movie-goers, but thanks to the success of The Hangover he’s now become a much more recognizable face.  He’s a solid actor capable of both comedic and dramatic turns and should be comfortable with the physical requirements as well.  But isn’t he already booked for The A-Team movie?

• Simon Dang at The Playlist also thinks Cooper’s in it to win it:
  

  The sentimental favourite (ours at least) would probably be Cooper and, after the success “The Hangover,” the actor may hold more than just a sentimental advantage over the other two in the studio’s eyes.

• Graeme McMillan at i09 votes for Cooper, hands down:
  

  Cooper’s The Hangover has shown that he can lead a movie - and, more importantly to Warner, that he can lead a successful movie - but he’s still looking for that role that can make him a star… and we think that Green Lantern stands a better chance of doing that than playing Faceman in the A Team revival.

  Plus, you know, he was never a member of NSync. That counts for a lot.

• Mike Sampson at JoBlo.com tosses in another vote for Cooper:
  

  in my mind, [Cooper] really is the best guy for the part. He’s got the look, the skills, the charm and, thanks to the HANGOVER, mass appeal. I have spoken, therefore it shall be done.

• Kevin Coll at Fused Film thinks Cooper will get it, but he favors Reynolds:
  

  I am gonna go ahead say Reynolds would be great being his humor really fits the character and how it is written, he also has the physical look for him. However I think Marvel will object to their Deadpool crossing into DC and playing a hero. I think he would be good though.

• Rob Bricken at Topless Robot also sides with Reynolds:
  

  The sad truth is that Ryan Reynolds is probably the best choice out of these three — he looks the most traditionally square-jawed and heroic out of the trio — but he’s either not going to make Green Lantern to make a Deadpool movie, or if he gets cast as GL, I’m pretty sure that’s going to kill the Deadpool movie in its tracks — I doubt WB will allow Reynolds to head up a DC superhero franchise and allow him to make Marvel movies at the same time.

• Dustin Rowles at Pajiba votes for Reynolds… to drop out of the race:
  

  All I’m saying is: This franchise has disaster written all over it. Run away, Ryan Reynolds. Run the hell away.

• Kyle Buchanan at Movieline would like to write-in a contestant who was reportedly eliminated in an earlier round:
  

  The Tudors actor Henry Cavill has spent his entire career being shortlisted, then ultimately passed over, for some of the biggest parts in Hollywood: Superman in a McG-helmed iteration of Superman Returns, James Bond in Casino Royale, the Caped Crusader in Batman Begins…hell, the poor guy was even author Stephanie Meyer’s first choice to play Edward in Twilight…Seriously, this is getting cruel. Give this poor guy a freaking franchise already, before he spends the bulk of his Pretty Years taping screen tests for sadistic casting directors!