The shady character of Sinestro will be played by Hollywood’s favourite Brit-abroad, the omni-present Mark Strong.

Fresh from his turn as Kick-Ass’s big bad, Strong is becoming well-versed on the ins and outs of comic-book lore, and has no qualms letting his inner geek run wild.

“For anybody who's familiar with the Green Lantern and the origin story, the film closely follows the early comics," claims Strong. "Sinestro starts out as Hal Jordan's mentor, slightly suspicious and not sure of him because obviously Hal is the first human being who's made into a Green Lantern.”

A man who knows his stuff, Strong has been doing a bit of homework to make sure his Sinestro looks the part.

“That widow’s peak and thin moustache was for some reason originally based on David Niven, and Hal Jordan was based on Paul Newman,” he says. "Obviously at the time, whoever was doing the original comics must have looked at them as guys doing very well in the film industry, and based those characters on them. I’d like to do justice to the Sinestro that was conceived for the comic books."