Carbene-induced rearrangement of 8,8-dibromobicyclo[5.1.0]octa-2,4-dienes and subsequent in situ deprotonation of the dihydropentalenes formed represents a straightforward and versatile solution route to pentalene ligands for use in organometallic chemistry. We report here the synthesis of 6-alkyl-substituted 8,8-dibromobicyclo[5.1.0]octa-2,4-dienes and their rearrangement to give correspondingly substituted pentalene ligands. Generation of methyl-substituted dihydropentalenes from 8,8-dibromo-6-methylbicyclo-[5.1.0]octa-2,4-diene followed by monodeprotonation with TlOEt gives methylhydropentalenyl salts, Tl-(C 8 H 6 Me), as a mixture of isomers. Formation of both 1-Me and 3-Me isomers of Re(C 8 H 6 Me)(CO) 3 from these Tl species shows that monodeprotonation of the dihydropentalenes occurs at the unsubstituted ring. No evidence for the 2-Me isomer is observed, consistent with the rearrangement mechanism reported in the literature. Likewise, rearrangement of 8,8-dibromo-6-alkylbicyclo[5.1.0]octa-2,4-dienes (R ) Me, Et, i Pr) and subsequent double deprotonation with n BuLi in the presence of DME affords the pentalenyl salts Li 2 (C 8 H 5 R)‚xDME. X-ray crystallographic studies of the dinuclear Mn organometallics anti-[Mn-(CO) 3 ] 2 (C 8 H 5 R) synthesized from the Li salts confirm that these alkylated pentalene ligands are substituted at the 1-position exclusively. The crystal structure of a model hydropentalenyl complex, Re(C 8 H 7 )(CO) 3 , is also reported.