‘Lanterns’ Is Going to be GOOD Good, Isn’t It?

The Green Lantern Corps are finally headed back to our screens soon, and the latest look at their series is a sight to behold. DC Studios’ Lanterns series, which will premiere on August 16th on HBO, debuted its first full trailer on Monday, further showcasing the journey of Hal Jordan (played by Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre).

The trailer gives us a lot to unpack: for starters, it shows us that (despite some people’s complaints around the grounded vibe of the first trailer) the show will, in fact, be cosmic. We see Hal making multiple Lantern constructs, including forging a $20 bill at the bar. And we see multiple scenes taking place on other planets, including what appears to be Hal visiting his comic-accurate nemesis, Sinestro (played by Ulrich Thomsen) in a Sciencell prison on Oa.

The footage also finally confirms that Laura Linney has joined the cast in a mystery role, with a scene of her and John speaking about his destiny in the Lantern Corps. (I’m now convinced that she’s playing one of the cosmic Guardians of the Universe that oversee the Corps, just presenting more human-like while on Earth.)

The trailer also arrived alongside an extensive Entertainment Weekly interview with showrunner Chris Mundy, in which he shed a lot of light on what to expect from the series. In particular, he confirmed that the show is set across two points in time. The first is 2016, when Hal and John are investigating a mysterious (and possibly cosmic) shooting in a small Nebraska own, while John is only a few months into his Lantern career, while the second is “something else” in 2026.

“That becomes a second mystery that we know is down the road for us,” Mundy explained. “So eventually two different mysteries get worked out over the course of the show.” 

What Is Lanterns About?

According to DC Studios’ official description for the series, Lanterns follows new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Lantern legend Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.

The ensemble cast of Lanterns also includes Kelly Macdonald as Kerry, Garret Dillahunt as William Macon, Poorna Jagannathan as Zoe, Nicole Ari Parker as Bernadette Stewart, Jason Ritter as Billy Macon, Sherman Augustus as John Stewart Sr., Paul Ben-Victor as Antaan, and Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro. Nathan Fillion will also reprise his scene-stealing role of Guy Gardner from 2025’s Superman.

The pilot for Lanterns is co-written by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King. The first two episodes are directed by James Hawes, with Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel and Alik Sakharov also tapped to direct. The series is executive produced by Mundy, Lindelof, James Gunn, Peter Safran, King, Ron Schmidt, and Hawes.

“From the start, our driving force has been to deliver a layered drama – rooted in nuanced storytelling and rich world building – that balances tension and mystery with honest, authentic emotion,” Mundy said in a statement when the series first began production. “The goal is to create something that feels timeless and grounded without sacrificing the magic of the source material.”

In the day since this trailer debuted, writer Christopher Cantwell also confirmed on social media that he is involved with writing the show’s upcoming second season. Cantwell is best known for his work on AMC’s Halt & Catch Fire and Prime Video’s adaptation of Paper Girls, as well as writing fan-favorite comic runs of Iron Man, Hellcat, and Doctor Doom.

As mentioned above, Lanterns is set to debut exclusively on HBO on Sunday, August 16th.

(featured image: HBO)

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