Alan Smithee is a filmmaking force to be reckoned with, and the only name you need to see on a movie’s credits to know what you’re about to watch is likely a dumpster fire. But Mr. Smithee isn’t a living, breathing person; it’s actually a pseudonym used for several decades by Hollywood directors when they want to distance themselves from a movie they helmed. While we live in a world that celebrates cinematic failures (cast your vote for the 2026 Golden Raspberry Awards) as much as we do successes, we’re sometimes surprised that the Smithee alias isn’t used more.
Famed director Martin Campbell, despite making one significant directorial misstep, never adopted the moniker, however. Campbell made many a James Bond fan happy when his second Bond effort, the 2006 movie “Casino Royale,” hit theaters. The two-hour-plus action-thriller garnered critical acclaim and exceptional box office returns, leading to another four Daniel Craig-led Bond films, culminating with 2021’s “No Time to Die.” This is the same Martin Campbell who directed the infamously panned 2011 film “Green Lantern,” a superhero flop that genre fans might call one of the worst movies of all time.
Starring Ryan Reynolds as the titular hero, the movie follows the character’s journey as he becomes the first human selected for an intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. Not only did “Green Lantern” barely break even at the box office — earning $220 million against a $200 million budget — but it would quickly pick up boatloads of bad press across numerous publications and review aggregate sites like Rotten Tomatoes.
Most critics thought Green Lantern was a dud, and so did its director
In an interview with Screen Rant, Martin Campbell spilled the beans on his Green Lantern experience: “I shouldn’t have done it [Green Lantern]. Because with something like Bond, I love Bond, and I watched every Bond film before I ever directed it. Superhero movies are not my cup of tea, and for that reason, I shouldn’t have done it. But directors always have to carry the can for the failures.” It’s almost bittersweet hearing Campbell taking ownership of his directorial role, but the Hollywood machine doesn’t run on responsibility; it runs on output.
And the proof is soon upon us: DC and HBO are on track to debut a live-action Green Lantern series (titled “Lanterns”) in the coming months, which serves as an extension of the larger DCU. As for Mr. Campbell, we’re pleased to report that his career continued past the Green Lantern slump. Some more recent releases include “Memory” (2022), “Dirty Angels” (2024), and “Cleaner” (2025) — the latter of which stars Daisy Ridley, Clive Owen, and Taz Skylar.
It’s hard to say when we’ll be getting a new James Bond movie, but here’s to wondering how good one would be with Campbell behind the camera again. If “Casino Royale” and “GoldenEye” are any indication, the results would probably be pretty spectacular.
