DC’s Lanterns trailer reveals grounded mystery with cosmic stakes

Lanterns
(Courtesy of HBO Max)

One of Comic-Con’s biggest reveals wasn’t just the first full trailer for DC Studios’ Lanterns. It was the long-awaited confirmation of who Hal Jordan and John Stewart will be facing.

During Friday’s Hall H panel, stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Garret Dillahunt and Poorna Jagannathan joined co-creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King to unveil the first extended look at the HBO drama. While the trailer embraces the grounded tone teased in earlier footage, it also confirms that the legendary Manhunters will serve as the series’ primary antagonists.

The trailer unfolds more like a prestige crime drama than a traditional superhero series. Set against lonely highways, quiet farmland and dimly lit Midwestern towns, Hal Jordan (Chandler) and rookie Green Lantern John Stewart (Pierre) investigate what begins as a murder before spiraling into a mystery with cosmic consequences.

Unlike previous previews, however, this trailer offers far more Green Lantern action. Fans get multiple looks at emerald energy constructs, aerial combat and ring-powered abilities before the mystery expands beyond Earthly crimes. Watch below:

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The biggest surprise comes with the introduction of the Manhunters. Longtime DC fans know the Manhunters as the Guardians of the Universe’s original attempt at creating an intergalactic police force before the Green Lantern Corps existed. In the comics, the robotic enforcers ultimately rebelled, leading the Guardians to abandon them in favor of Lanterns wielding power rings.

Lanterns, however, appears to be taking the mythology in a new direction.

The trailer explicitly refers to the Manhunters as shapeshifters, a significant departure from their comic book and animated counterparts, where they have traditionally been robotic beings rather than beings capable of assuming human form.

That creative choice has already sparked speculation among fans about whether DC Studios is connecting them to Mars and its shapeshifting inhabitants, including J’onn J’onzz, better known as the Martian Manhunter, or simply reinventing the Manhunters for the new DC Universe.

Whatever the explanation, they don’t appear to resemble the classic robotic versions audiences have known for decades.

The footage also reinforces the dynamic between Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Pierre’s John Stewart. Hal is portrayed as a seasoned Lantern carrying years of experience and hidden burdens, while John serves as the disciplined newcomer learning the ropes.

The trailer suggests their partnership will anchor the series even as larger cosmic threats emerge, though Hal’s acknowledgment that John is effectively his successor continues to fuel fan speculation about whether elements of Jordan’s darker comic history could eventually find their way into the series.

Chandler recently told Entertainment Weekly that preparing for the role meant discovering just how passionate Green Lantern fans are. “I’ll tell you what, you can find them everywhere,” Chandler said. “You can find them in bars, you can find them in restaurants. All your friends that you never knew were Green Lantern historians, they come out of the woodwork.”

The cast also includes Kelly Macdonald, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Nathan Fillion, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones.

Produced by HBO in association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios, the eight-episode series is co-created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, with Mundy serving as showrunner. James Hawes directs the first two episodes, while Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel and Alik Sakharov direct additional installments. Executive producers include Mundy, Lindelof, King, James Gunn, Peter Safran, Ron Schmidt and Hawes.

Lanterns premieres Sunday, Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and streams on HBO Max.

The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.

Lanterns
(Courtesy of HBO Max)

One of Comic-Con’s biggest reveals wasn’t just the first full trailer for DC Studios’ Lanterns. It was the long-awaited confirmation of who Hal Jordan and John Stewart will be facing.

During Friday’s Hall H panel, stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Garret Dillahunt and Poorna Jagannathan joined co-creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King to unveil the first extended look at the HBO drama. While the trailer embraces the grounded tone teased in earlier footage, it also confirms that the legendary Manhunters will serve as the series’ primary antagonists.

The trailer unfolds more like a prestige crime drama than a traditional superhero series. Set against lonely highways, quiet farmland and dimly lit Midwestern towns, Hal Jordan (Chandler) and rookie Green Lantern John Stewart (Pierre) investigate what begins as a murder before spiraling into a mystery with cosmic consequences.

Unlike previous previews, however, this trailer offers far more Green Lantern action. Fans get multiple looks at emerald energy constructs, aerial combat and ring-powered abilities before the mystery expands beyond Earthly crimes. Watch below:

REELated:

Comic-Con: ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ finds its Joker

The biggest surprise comes with the introduction of the Manhunters. Longtime DC fans know the Manhunters as the Guardians of the Universe’s original attempt at creating an intergalactic police force before the Green Lantern Corps existed. In the comics, the robotic enforcers ultimately rebelled, leading the Guardians to abandon them in favor of Lanterns wielding power rings.

Lanterns, however, appears to be taking the mythology in a new direction.

The trailer explicitly refers to the Manhunters as shapeshifters, a significant departure from their comic book and animated counterparts, where they have traditionally been robotic beings rather than beings capable of assuming human form.

That creative choice has already sparked speculation among fans about whether DC Studios is connecting them to Mars and its shapeshifting inhabitants, including J’onn J’onzz, better known as the Martian Manhunter, or simply reinventing the Manhunters for the new DC Universe.

Whatever the explanation, they don’t appear to resemble the classic robotic versions audiences have known for decades.

The footage also reinforces the dynamic between Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Pierre’s John Stewart. Hal is portrayed as a seasoned Lantern carrying years of experience and hidden burdens, while John serves as the disciplined newcomer learning the ropes.

The trailer suggests their partnership will anchor the series even as larger cosmic threats emerge, though Hal’s acknowledgment that John is effectively his successor continues to fuel fan speculation about whether elements of Jordan’s darker comic history could eventually find their way into the series.

Chandler recently told Entertainment Weekly that preparing for the role meant discovering just how passionate Green Lantern fans are. “I’ll tell you what, you can find them everywhere,” Chandler said. “You can find them in bars, you can find them in restaurants. All your friends that you never knew were Green Lantern historians, they come out of the woodwork.”

The cast also includes Kelly Macdonald, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Nathan Fillion, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones.

Produced by HBO in association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios, the eight-episode series is co-created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, with Mundy serving as showrunner. James Hawes directs the first two episodes, while Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel and Alik Sakharov direct additional installments. Executive producers include Mundy, Lindelof, King, James Gunn, Peter Safran, Ron Schmidt and Hawes.

Lanterns premieres Sunday, Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and streams on HBO Max.

The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.

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