Damon Lindelof Says ‘Lanterns’ Season 2 Writers’ Room Has Already Started, Wants Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Back At DC

HBO’s “Lanterns” hasn’t even premiered yet, but DC Studios is apparently wasting little time thinking about what comes next. According to co-creator Damon Lindelof, showrunner Chris Mundy has already begun assembling a writers’ room to explore potential stories for a second season—even though HBO has yet to officially renew the series.

Speaking to ScreenRant at the “Lanterns” premiere, Lindelof said the first season was constructed as a self-contained mystery but suggested there’s plenty of room to continue.

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“We came into this with the sort of attitude that this was a mystery with a beginning, middle, and end,” Lindelof explained. “We had a story to tell about characters that we really cared about, and we would want the audience to kind of get to know them over the course of the first season and really invest in them, and then that story ended.”

But the show turning into a hit could quickly change the equation.

“If it’s successful and people love it, there’s a lot of runway to launch into future seasons,” Lindelof added. “But I think Chris Mundy has already started a new writers’ room, figuring out what new stories could be for ‘Lanterns.’”

That’s consistent with recent reporting that a second-season writers’ room has actually been working for more than a month despite HBO not formally renewing the show. Christopher Cantwell, the “Halt and Catch Fire” co-creator and longtime Marvel and DC Comics writer, has reportedly been brought aboard as co-showrunner alongside Mundy. Lindelof, meanwhile, is not expected to return for Season 2 after initially signing on for a single season, while co-creator Tom King is also stepping away from the writers’ room as he works on DC Studios’ animated “Mister Miracle”

That apparently hasn’t stopped Lindelof from doing a little fantasy casting for wherever “Lanterns” could go next. Asked which former collaborators he might like to see enter the DCU, the “Watchmen” and “The Leftovers” creator mentioned Regina King, Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

“I worked with a great actor, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who would be great,” Lindelof said. “He was already in the old version of the DCU. He played the bad guy in the ‘Aquaman’ movies.”

Lindelof, of course, worked with Abdul-Mateen on HBO’s “Watchmen,” where the actor played Cal Abar/Doctor Manhattan. Abdul-Mateen also played Black Manta opposite Jason Momoa in “Aquaman” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” roles belonging to the now-defunct DCEU rather than James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DCU.

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“Lanterns” stars Kyle Chandler as veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, with the two intergalactic cops investigating a murder that leads to a larger mystery. Kelly Macdonald, Ulrich Thomsen, and Nathan Fillion also star, with Fillion reprising his Guy Gardner role from the wider DCU.

Additionally, HBO Max has also released the first five minutes of the show ahead of Sunday’s premiere. The opening jumps back to the mid-1990s, with a young John Stewart watching an interview featuring a younger Hal Jordan before offering an early glimpse at Stewart’s childhood.

“Lanterns” premieres August 16 on HBO and HBO Max. Watch the first five minutes below.