We are late in addressing it, but LANTERNS does not come around until August ’26, and the buzz has already been happening, and some of it skews negative. HBOWatch quickly weighs in on it all.
But first, the positives. Not only has this piece been generated by Damon Lindelof of LOST, THE LEFTOVERS, and WATCHMEN acclaim, but it has the collaboration of Tom King, a master DC wordsmith, and Chris Mundy, as showrunner. The series has been on everyone’s list of most anticipated works out there, and though we did not expect a flat-out traditional look at the Green Lantern Corps, hope was placed that the show would do justice.
Many have argued that justice won’t be served, even way back when the Logline was issued – the series 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.
So, is this a dead TRUE DETECTIVE idea redesigned with the ringbears shoehorned in at the last minute or what? Based upon the description, that was what the internet was thinking – GLs limited to an Earth-bound story. Then they started to cry about the title of the show. It wasn’t “Green Lanterns” but just LANTERNS. Well, as a GL reader in my youth, I know that ‘green’ was not the only color sported; there was the Red Corps and the Yellow Corps. A villain hinted at in this show is Sinestro, played by Ulrich Thomsen, who, at least in the comics, was in the Yellow Corps. My point is that more than just the Green Corp can be in this show, thus a logical title. We’ll see.
Then the Teaser dropped and, as the internet does, it was picked apart. Again, not enough green, not enough of the expected superhero stuff, and certainly no green energy. Hal Jordan takes to flight in it, but is not encased in green energy when he does so. So it definitely breaks canon a bit. The series is not going to be the comic books brought to life. The production team must think we are too past that.
We have to wait until August to find out for sure how it will all play out. It is already not DC enough for the DC fans, but what about the HBO fans? Yes, LOST went on too long, and you either got THE LEFTOVERS, or you did not (thankfully, I did, and it is a favorite still), but WATCHMEN, a DC title, was reimagined effectively, or so we thought. The verdict is still out, and we’ve yet to see a full trailer, but, for now, LANTERNS does not show us the GLs I remember. What do you think?
