Can you feel it? The excitement rippling the air? It’s got nothing to do with The Ashes – two days in and the bloody Aussies are already running away with it – but the fact that Warner Bros. and Martin Campbell are about to choose the lucky guy who will be their Green Lantern.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a casting search that has spanned five months and countless actors, including Michael Fassbender, Jared Leto and Henry Cavill, aka the unluckiest bastard in Hollywood*, Campbell and producers Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti have narrowed it down to the following three gentlemen: Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds and, erm, Justin Timberlake.

Yes, Justin Timberlake.

The singing guy. The Sexyback bloke.

The fella who was in The Love Guru.

Justin Timberlake.

In fact, some reports are even claiming that Timberlake may be the favourite, which would knock us for a six and then some. Now, let’s get one thing perfectly straight: we are not deriding Justin Timberlake. He’s a perfectly talented fella, we liked that song about the river, and he’s always seemed like a good egg.

But as an actor, his talents seem much more suited to comedy. The Love Guru aside (and he actually came out of that sorry mess with his reputation and dignity intact), he kills whenever he hosts Saturday Night Live, and his collaborations with the Lonely Island guys (Dick In A Box etc.) suggest that inside the R&B superstar is a frustrated Steve Martin just aching to burst out.

So the idea that we might see him suit up, mask up and slip the supremely powerful ring of the Green Lantern Corps onto the finger of Hal Jordan is one that’s taking a wee bit of time to get used to.

Not so much with Cooper, who’s been linked with the role for ages, and Reynolds, who’s rapidly become the go-to guy for superheroes. He was Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity, he was Deadpool for about 2 minutes, 39 seconds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he’s been linked with The Flash for aaaaaaaaages and we wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that there were plans afoot to digitally insert him into Spider-Man.

If Reynolds is the guy given the nod, he’s going to have to find a way to balance his Green Lantern duties with his commitment to playing Wade Wilson/Deadpool again in the mooted Wolverine spin-off. Of course, Green Lantern is nearly ready to go, with sets constructed in Sydney, while Deadpool is a ways off yet. But whether Reynolds may feel that he’s all superheroed out remains to be seen.

At the moment, as well, there’s the consideration that Cooper is just coming off The Hangover, and is Hansel hot right now. But he’s also committed to Joe Carnahan’s The A-Team, which starts filming next month. Can he squeeze both in?

Hmm... Is it us, or does it seem like the path to Timberlake is being cleared?

Whatever Campbell and co. decide, they’ve got to do it fast, for holding deals with all three actors expired on Monday, allowing them to take on new projects while giving Green Lantern a green, glowing middle finger.So, readers, who would you prefer? 

Green Lantern, the first big DC superhero flick not to feature Batman or Superman (Watchmen doesn’t quite count, as it’s not part of the established DC Universe), is set for release in December of next year.

 * Missed out on Batman, and Superman, and Bond by inches, apparently. We still love him though!