Today the Hollywood Reporter reports that WB has narrowed the list of Green Lanterns down to three possibilities: Ryan Reynolds, Brad Cooper, and Justin Timberlake.

Along with director Martin Campbell and producers Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti, Warners has spent the past five months searching for the actor to play Hal Jordan, the hot-shot Air Force pilot who is chosen by a dying alien to be his successor in an intergalactic police force known as the Green Lanterns.

The clock is ticking on the decision as the holding deal the studio had on the actors expired Monday, meaning the three are now free to accept other offers. The studio ordered up two rounds of screen tests with Cooper, Reynolds and Timberlake. Other actors in the early mix included Michael Fassbender, Henry Cavill and Jared Leto. Apparently, [Producer Donald] De Line, [Director Martin] Campbell and the studio each had a different favorite among the three finalists, making it difficult to come to a consensus.

Another issue impacting the casting process is the rising budget. “Lantern” is a full-blown space epic that is expected to cost between $150 million and $200 million, if not more. Warners would like to have the production costs at a reasonable level before proceeding.

I like all three of these guys as comedic actors, but none of them would be my first choice to play a superhero. Chris Pine from Star Trek and Jeremy Renner from The Hurt Locker come to mind. Then again, one of the best comic book movies was Spider-Man 2, and Tobey Maguire probably would’ve been just below Joe Pesci on my list of potential Spider Men.  I guess what I’m saying is, I can’t decide which muscular young man I’d most like to see fly around in tights and wear a power ring.  The important thing is that they keep Cam Gigandet 500 feet from the set at all times.