The Green Hornet has been in development hell since the ’90s. George Clooney and Jake Gyllenhaal were both attached to the lead role at various times and famed comic book fan Kevin Smith spent months toiling on a screenplay. The project only gained traction when Seth Rogen got involved, and even then, he had to push it through multiple script revisions and the sudden departure of director Stephen Chow, who was also slated to play Kato.

Through all of that trouble, The Green Hornet finally went into production last September. Here’s our first look.

I think that something seems off about this trailer. Yes, the movie appears to be strongly geared toward the lowest common denominator and made for maximum mainstream appeal, but something in my gut tells me that this is just the editing.

For example, did you notice that Christoph Waltz is almost entirely missing from the trailer? Don’t you find that strange, considering that he just won an Oscar with practically no contest? I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s bringing something new and menacing to the role that the ad folks are afraid to show. Ditto for Edward James Olmos, who’s missing from the trailer completely.

It’s also worth noting that we saw a lot of Seth Rogen in his comedy bits, but only fleeting shots of him in action. I’m guessing that this is because Rogen is much more famous as a comedy actor than an action star, which is a shame as the action part is really where Rogen will be pushing his envelope. But then, why would a cautious advertiser want to show something so untested at the box office?

Also, the trailer suggests that Kato comes off as a bigger hero than Reid does. Is this how the movie will work (if so… ouch), or is it just the advertisers trying to woo the Asian demographic?

By far the biggest tip-off is that there’s nothing here with Michel Gondry’s signature. Absolutely nothing to suggest that this film wasn’t made by some hack, but by the mad genius who gave us Eternal Sunshine and Be Kind, Rewind. I find it very hard to believe that Gondry could bring himself to make something this generic.

It’s entirely possible that what we see is what we’re getting. Still, all things considered, I’m still reserving my judgment until the film’s release on January 14, 2011.