Lanterns Creators Promise a Different Kind of Superhero
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- "Lanterns" premieres Sunday, Aug. 16 on HBO Max as part of James Gunn and Peter Safran's expanded DCU, with co-creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King pitching a grounded take that Lindelof called "an entirely different kind of superhero."
- Kyle Chandler plays Hal Jordan, an intergalactic space officer who creates material items through his ring, and is forced to take Aaron Pierre's John Stewart under his wing after a series of unexplainable deaths draws both to a small Nebraska town.
- Mundy, who served as showrunner on "Ozark" and is new to comics, and Lindelof ("Watchmen") both cited the HBO limited series as a touchstone for making the show emotional and about real people while honoring the source material — a parallel King extended to how 'Watchmen' in the 1980s opened comics to themes of race, colonization and justice.
- Poorna Jagannathan, who plays Zoe, told Variety she initially hesitated to join because she expected "a green screen wearing a suit, talking to no one at all, just into the abyss" — she predicted the show could become "a blueprint" for future genre work.
- The series ties into John Stewart's involvement in the upcoming film "Man of Tomorrow" and brings back Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner, who previously appeared in "Superman" and "Peacemaker."
- Lindelof said the show's reception could determine whether early Season 2 conversations turn into an official renewal, noting the DCU has tested waters with both the success of "Superman" and the underwhelming reception of "Supergirl."
- On fandom, Lindelof warned that "fans hate more than being listened to is fan service," arguing that fandom is not a monolith and that some want revisionist risks while others want the version they already love.
Why it matters: Lanterns' performance is a stress test for James Gunn's DCU creative model, where Gunn and Safran set boundaries on storylines but give showrunners artistic freedom. If the grounded, Watchmen-inspired approach lands with audiences, it validates the framework for future DCU TV; if it underperforms like Supergirl, it could complicate early Season 2 talks and narrow the latitude given to risk-taking adaptations.
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