The perfect actor to play The Flash has always been Ryan Reynolds, but now that he’s Green Lantern and Deadpool too, well that’s never going to happen. So if you can’t have Ryan Reynolds, who’s the next best Hollywood choice? Bradley Cooper, obviously. Good news, he may be up for the role.

Moviehole says Cooper is the current odds on favorite to play the legendary, red-suited speedster. Bradley was actually also up for the part of Green Lantern at one point, and if Ryan Reynolds hadn’t taken the job, he would probably have been WB’s next choice. That means they like him and since Warners is now putting together The Flash (in fact the script is almost ready) it makes sense that they’d want to find another way to use one of Hollywood’s hottest, rising talents. It doesn’t hurt that, he’s actually kind of perfect for the part too.

For now it’s all rumor but MH is a generally reliable source and if they say Bradley Cooper is at the top of the studio’s Flash shortlist, then I’m inclined to believe there’s something to it. I can’t help but think, though, that Bradley Cooper would actually have been a better fit as Green Lantern than Reynolds and that Reynolds, well he was born to be the sometimes mischievous sound barrier breaker. In both cases, I guess we’ll have to settle for second best.