Everything We Know About “Lanterns” (So Far)
Have you all recovered from Comic-Con yet? Along with plenty of exciting DC comic book news, we got <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UIBOsuUwc4″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>a new trailer for Lanterns. I was excited about the upcoming superhero crime drama before, but now my excitement has multiplied a thousandfold. (And I’m not the only one, if the trailer’s YouTube comments are any indication.)
The show doesn’t premiere until August 16, but now that we have two teasers and a full trailer, we’re getting an idea of what we can expect from the series…and it’s not what any of us were prepared for. Here are few key observations I’ve made after rewatching all three trailers multiple times. Just keep in mind that like you, I haven’t seen any of the episodes yet, so treat most of my theories as speculation.
HAL JORDAN AND JOHN STEWART HAVE SOME ISSUES TO WORK OUT
According to the first teaser, Hal Jordan has been training John Stewart for two months, and he’s a bit of an unconventional teacher. John says he hasn’t gotten to wear the power ring yet, and Hal responds as any teacher would—by jumping out of a moving vehicle so John could use his training to save himself from the inevitable car crash.
Hal seems to be giving John a hard time across all three trailers, and the newest one gives us a bit of a hint why.
“You don’t really believe he’s your backup, do you, Hal?” he’s asked. We get some acknowledgement that Hal sees John as his replacement, and the elder Lantern isn’t sure how he feels about it. It’s a tense relationship, and the chemistry between Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre is entertaining in every scene.
One of the best parts of the Green Lantern mythos is seeing all the fun constructs the Lanterns come up with. From what we’ve seen so far, it looks like the series is going to embrace this part of the mythology and have some fun with it. The second teaser shows Hal Jordan using his ring to construct money (I’m not sure how the Guardians would feel about that), and the new trailer shows John conjuring a bird and Hal making a bottle opener.
The trailer gave us a good look at Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, and my goodness, he looks like he stepped right off the comic book page. More importantly, we get a sense of his relationship with Hal, and it’s an interesting take. Sinestro is able to clock how Hal truly feels about John Stewart, showing that he knows him better than Hal would probably care to admit. It’s a brief moment in the trailer, but I definitely got Hannibal Lecter vibes from it. It’s also interesting that in a show about not knowing who to trust, Sinestro is the one person who could see through Hal.
Lanternswill be an Earthbound adventure, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be getting a taste of the cosmic side of the DC Universe. The second teaser and the full trailer showed us an alien world and a space prison. The first teaser also mentioned Ch’p, the alien chipmunk Lantern, showing us that even though the show is grounded, they aren’t afraid to reference the fantastical and cosmic elements of the mythology.
We can’t have a show about Lanterns without Guy Gardner showing up. Trust me, he wouldn’t let us.
While Lanterns is clearly Hal and John’s show, it’s nice knowing that Nathan Fillion will be back as Guy Gardner, bowl cut and all, even if it’s a guest appearance. Plus, it’ll be entertaining to see Hal and Guy’s classic dynamic in live action.
However, Guy does seem to be warning Hal about a big threat coming after him, which makes me wonder if it’s a Manhunter impersonating him. Speaking of Manhunters…
The official trailer revealed what would seem to be the big threat of the series, an extraterrestrial group known as the Manhunters. According to the trailer, the Manhunters have infiltrated Earth, disguising themselves amongst the human population. That adds the perfect sense of drama to the series, since we’ll probably be questioning if everyone is who they say they are. It’s the perfect cosmic threat for a grounded superhero series.
In the comics, the Manhunters were a group of robots that had sleeper agents hidden throughout Earth. The 1988 crossover Millenium revealed that many key figures in the superhero community had secretly been Manhunter agents, including Wally West’s father, Lana Lang and key Outsiders ally Dr. Helga Jace. So yeah, they’re a big deal, and you never know who could be working for them.
The trailer ends with Kyle Chandler reciting the Green Lantern Oath in a voiceover. I don’t have any theories about that, I just think it was awesome. Chandler absolutely owned those words, and as a longtime comic fan it was music to my ears.
Keep in mind, these are just my impressions, and I could be off the mark about some of my theories. Either way, from everything we’ve seen so far, Lanterns has given us plenty of reasons to be excited. August 16th can’t get here quickly enough.
Lanterns, starring Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler, premieres August 16th on HBO Max.
Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, “Gotham Gazette.” Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.
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