I don’t know the exact truth, but the basic gist of the story is that a major sponsor for the new Green Lantern movie is PepsiCo. (Who didn’t see a special Green Lantern Mt. Dew can on the way to stores this summer?) Well, Six Flags theme parks are Coke branded, so apparently anytime Six Flags want to run an ad for Green Lantern and mention special offers like 2-for-1 tickets with a Coke Can, or even offers for coupons at your local McDonalds or Wendy’s (also Coke chains) Warner Bros. has informed Six Flags that they can not use the name “Green Lantern” at all to promote the new coaster.
For example, in the New York / New Jersey area I’ve been told early ads have been seen simply telling you to come to SFGAdv to ride their “new Stand Up coaster”. Similar problems are also cropping up for Magic Mountain as well. If they just run a simple ad for the coaster and nothing else, they’re good… but add in anything else, and proof… Green Lantern vanishes. This is despite the fact that technically, Six Flags isn’t using a license connection to the movie at all, but simply to the comic character. The problem is, Warner Bros. has final say as the owner of the movie and the comic franchise… and their deal with PepsiCo is more important and valuable to them than any deal with Six Flags.
That said, I do have a good bit of news for SFGAdv fans… as the park is said to be planning an exclusive Season Passholder preview day to ride Green Lantern somewhere between May 19-22 ahead of the projected grand opening on May 25th.
