For years, the Green Lantern corner of DC has been treated as one of the publisher’s trickier live-action puzzles: cosmic power rings, intergalactic police work, and a concept that can tip into a silly spectacle quickly if the tone isn’t carefully controlled. HBO Max and DC Studios are taking a different route with “Lanterns,” an HBO drama that brings the Corps down to Earth for a murder investigation in the American heartland.
HBO Max has released a new trailer for the upcoming original drama series, which stars Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”) as Hal Jordan, Aaron Pierre (“Rebel Ridge”) as John Stewart, and Kelly Macdonald (“Boardwalk Empire”) as Sheriff Kerry. The series is slated to debut August 16 on HBO and stream on HBO Max. Also, the new footage has revealed “Ozark” actress Laura Linney is appearing as well.
The logline is direct: new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan are two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland. It’s a smart tonal lane for the property, especially after years of DC trying to figure out how to make Green Lantern work on screen without getting buried in mythology before the audience has anyone to care about.
Chris Mundy (“Ozark”) serves as showrunner and co-created the series with Damon Lindelof (“Watchmen,” “Lost”) and Tom King, the acclaimed DC Comics writer. The pilot is co-written by Mundy, Lindelof, and King, while James Hawes directs the first two episodes. Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Alik Sakharov are also set to direct. Executive producers include Mundy, Lindelof, James Gunn, Peter Safran, King, Ron Schmidt, and Hawes.
Recent details have also made the show’s structure clearer. Mundy told Entertainment Weekly that “Lanterns” unfolds across two timelines: one beginning in 2016, around a shooting in Rushville, Nebraska, and another in 2026. The showrunner described the series as a relationship story between John and Hal as much as a mystery.
That should help separate “Lanterns” from the usual superhero origin-story machinery. Hal is the old guard, John is the new recruit, and the Corps itself becomes part of the friction rather than just the lore. Mundy also said the series will use the Green Lantern mythology—including ring constructs and off-planet elements—while keeping the show “boots-on-the-ground” and emotionally tangible.
For DC Studios, “Lanterns” arrives at a useful moment. Gunn and Safran’s new DC Universe has been slowly building out its film and television architecture, and this series gives one of its most visually outlandish corners a genre hook that audiences immediately understand: two cops, one murder, and a case that points to something bigger.
“Lanterns” premieres August 16 on HBO and HBO Max. Watch the trailer below.
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
