Blake Lively Suits Up to Join Superhero Club

“Gossip Girl” Blake Lively may want to set aside her New York fashionista wardrobe and prepare to incorporate more Lycra. The actress is the latest to join the hero squad after she signed on to star in “Green Lantern,” based on the DC Comic series. Chalk it up to one more sign that everyone’s a superhero these days.

Lively will star as Carol Ferris. She will star as the love interest for Green Lantern, played by Ryan Reynolds, who has plenty of his own good deeds ahead. After wearing green for the Martin Campbell-directed movie, Reynolds will return for “Deadpool,” a spinoff based on his character in the hit film, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Not to worry, “X-Men” fans — that doesn’t mean the franchise will take a hit. Director Bryan Singer is returning for another round, and is planning a prequel that is being called “X-Men: First Class.”

Singer shared a few plot details with Variety, noting that it will cover “the formative years of Xavier and Magneto, the formation of the school and where [their] relationship took a wrong turn. There will be a lot of new mutants and a great villain.”

Good news. Mutants and great villains mean plenty of juicy roles to go around, not that Hollywood seems to be hurting with Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, and Robert Downey Jr. teaming up for “Iron Man 2″ or “Jonah Hex,” where Megan Fox and Josh Brolin try to rid the world of the undead.

The only actor who seems to have had enough super-antics? Stuart Townsend, who gave up the role of the villain of Marvel Comic’s movie adaptation of “Thor.” Townsend left the project today, citing creative differences, according to sources close to the set, who add that he’ll be replaced by Joshua Dallas. The movie begins production today, with a power cast (naturally) that also includes Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins.