Lanterns is set partially in the past - how that makes sense for James Gunn's DC timeline
We finally have some fresh intel on HBO Max's Green Lanterns series.
We have to wait until August to get a look at what HBO Max is cooking up with the series Lanterns, but after a whole lot of mystery, showrunner Chris Mundy has finally dropped some intel on what fans can expect for the series — and how it fits into the larger DC film universe James Gunn is mapping out.
The Green Lanterns TV series has been a long time coming, put into development all the way back in 2019, then considerably retooled after Gunn took creative control over the DC universe in 2022. The result of all that work is Lanterns, a True Detective-style noir starring Kyle Chandler as veteran Lantern Hal Jordan, and Aaron Pierre as his younger trainee John Stewart as they investigate a murder.
But how exactly does that True Detective vibe fit into a story about intergalactic space cops? Well, it’s a story that isn’t taking place in the modern day. Mundy revealed that small town detective story is actually set in 2016, while Hal is looking into a death in a small town — which he feels is alien related, but the local sheriff feels is just a plain ol’ murder.
“It’s not like F.B.I. and locals. It’s the Lantern Corps. and a local sheriff. That’s our entry into that town and into the mystery,” Mundy said. “We wanted to tell an on-the-ground story, and that has a couple of different mysteries inside of it,” Mundy told Entertainment Weekly.
Mundy explained the show will feature stories told across two different timelines: that 2016 detective story, and “something else” set in the modern day of 2026. That explains the continuity quirk in the first trailer, where Hal tells John that he’s the “only” human Green Lantern — right after we just saw Nathan Fillion play Green Lantern Guy Gardner on the big screen in Gunn’s 2025 film Superman. Now that we know that scene presumably took place in 2016, his comments make more sense. It also explains where Fillion’s reported role in Lanterns fits — presumably, he pops up in the 2026 storyline.
“[E]ventually two different mysteries get worked out over the course of the show … We think of this as a relationship show between John and Hal, and there’s a lot to unpack over the course of the eight episodes,” Mundy said.
Yes, Lanterns will have green in it
The first trailer for Lanterns looked very cool, but it also looked very… well, not all that green. The film landed in that dusty, True Detective-esque sepia color scheme of a prestige HBO drama, which led to some grumbling among certain corners of online fans who wanted something brighter.
Mundy admits he’s heard the criticism, making clear: “It’s a Green Lantern show, so there’s green.” He added they could’ve easily put out a “tremendously green” trailer, so when fans actually see the show, he doesn’t expect it to be a problem.
As for how much effects works fans can expect, he said their story is “grounded and real” and shot practically as much as they can. He described the effects total as on the “medium-to-low side” in regards to the green, sci-fi constructs the Lanterns can create, but admitted some episodes are “incredibly heavy,” with effects work — but the goal overall was to making something with a more “boots-on-the-ground approach.”
Will Lanterns have a Season 2?
It seems crazy to start asking about a Season 2 while we’re still three months away from the first season — for a show we’ve been waiting the better part of a decade to actually see in the first place. But hey, DC Studios has a universe to build, right?
Mundy made clear that Lanterns was conceived as a multi-season show, meaning the goal would be to continue the story of the Green Lanterns (hey, the show’s title is vague enough it could technically focus on any of the Lanterns, right?). With hopes for more episodes down the line, he said they use different characters from the GL and DC mythology, but there was too much to try and jam into just one season.
“We talk about [the other Lanterns] at different times, but they’re not gonna interact with them in the course of this season,” Mundy said.
Honestly, that all makes sense for a debut season, especially one just eight episodes long. The new DC universe is finally looking to integrate the Green Lanterns into the larger universe, after Zack Snyder’s slate only hinted briefly at the super-powered space cops (though that extended Snyder Cut battle featuring the Lanterns was very awesome).
If it all works? This show could be the ongoing forum for building out Green Lantern stories, while also providing the option of having Lanterns show up on the big screen across the mainline film slate (Superman: Man of Tomorrow, here’s looking at you).
But it all starts with Lanterns. Here’s hoping it’ll be worth the wait.