HBO's 'Lanterns' Trailer Debuts at SDCC, Reveals Sinestro
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- HBO's 'Lanterns' debuted a new trailer at San Diego Comic-Con ahead of its Aug. 16 premiere, with the eight-episode series following veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and his protégé John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) as they investigate a mysterious murder in rural Nebraska potentially tied to dangerous extraterrestrials.
- Ulrich Thomsen's Sinestro gets his first on-screen look in the trailer — a red-skinned alien and former Green Lantern mentor to Jordan who becomes one of his greatest villains and later a Yellow Lantern powered by fear, now shown visiting Jordan in prison.
- Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner makes a cameo, reprising his role from 2025's 'Superman' and its upcoming sequel 'Man of Tomorrow.'
- The Manhunters — shape-shifting aliens who can look like anyone — are revealed as central to the murder mystery in the new footage.
- Tom King, Damon Lindelof, and Chris Mundy created the series, with DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran serving as executive producers.
- 'Lanterns' is the third title in the rebooted DC Universe after 'Creature Commandos' and 'Peacemaker,' with the body-horror film 'Clayface' (Tom Rhys Harries) next up this fall.
Why it matters: The Aug. 16 premiere makes Lanterns the third title in James Gunn and Peter Safran's rebooted DC Universe, following Creature Commandos and Peacemaker. By grounding the Green Lantern Corps in a rural Nebraska murder mystery rather than cosmic spectacle, the show tests whether DC's new era can expand beyond superhero action into genre crime drama.
