Kiwis take key roles in Green Lantern

Veteran New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison and Eagle vs Shark director Taika Waititi have scored supporting roles in Warner Bros' 3-D superhero movie Green Lantern, directed by fellow Kiwi Martin Campbell.

Two other Oscar-winning locals have taken on key backstage roles in the film, based on the DC Comics' Green Lantern character and scheduled for release in June next year, the Dominion Post reported.

Grant Major, who won an Oscar in 2004 for his work as production designer on The Lord of the Rings, is the film's art director.

Costume designer Ngila Dickson, who took home an Oscar the same year for her work on the Sir Peter Jackson trilogy, is taking on the same role for Green Lantern.

About an interplanetary police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, the film stars X-Men actor Ryan Reynolds as test pilot-turned superhero Hal Jordan.

Waititi will play Jordan's best friend, while Morrison will play Abin Sur, another member of the Corps.

- NZPA