Following ten years of struggling with critics and commercially, DC Studios has found its stability under James Gunn. With the moderate success of and the foundation established by the fairly popular second season of Peacemaker, it appears the era of DC films being dominated by the MCU has ended, along with their period of moving forward without a clear strategy. will debut in just three months, Gunn’s eagerly awaited follow-up Man of Tomorrow is scheduled for July 2027, and numerous additional television series and possibly video games are on the horizon for fans both before and after.
Among those rapidly approaching projects is Lanterns, a TV adaptation of the Green Lantern Corps developed by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, Tom King, and overseen by Mundy as showrunner. The mythology surrounding the Green Lanterns in comics is vast and extensive, featuring numerous human Lanterns and narratives that extend from Earth to the distant corners of DC’s cosmic realm. However, aside from knowing the series follows experienced Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) as he tries to mentor newcomer John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), viewers were uncertain what to anticipate. DC has now unveiled the initial teaser for the series, and although it doesn’t disclose many details, it clearly indicates that a massive interstellar conspiracy shouldn’t be expected immediately.
In addition to offering a look at the turbulent dynamic between mentor and protégé, the first Lanterns teaser further reveals that Stewart has yet to even put on the ring, signifying this will be a true origin tale for the character. The friction between the two characters appears to originate from this as well; there’s a distinct sense that John Stewart won’t merely be another trainee, but will actually succeed Hal Jordan when his era ends. Near the trailer’s conclusion, there’s also an intriguing line where Hal refers to himself as “the only human” Lantern, prompting questions about the show’s connection to Superman — has Hal Jordan never encountered Guy Gardner, the Green Lantern introduced in the DCU’s inaugural film, or is the series set before Gardner officially joined the Corps?
In addition to illuminating the relationship between our two protagonists, the teaser also delivers a considerably more limited scope than one might anticipate from a Green Lantern series. Based on what’s displayed, it seems the majority of the series will unfold in a small Nebraska town, with Jordan and Stewart clashing with local police as they probe a homicide with extensive and perilous consequences. This aligns perfectly with Gunn’s earlier comments about the series drawing inspiration from True Detective and Slow Horses — a police procedural and spy thriller respectively, both characterized by their complex emphasis on character development and slowly unfolding, intricate mysteries. Gunn has also confirmed that the crime our protagonists are investigating will connect to the emerging DCU’s broader storyline, so while the initial teaser may seem minimal or disjointed, it will undoubtedly develop into something monumental for the franchise going forward.
The trailer itself contains relatively little action (particularly of the green, hard-light type), but it does provide glimpses of several of the show’s action sequences, including Hal leaving John alone in a speeding vehicle to evaluate his capabilities, John’s abduction by what appears to be a paramilitary group, and a military parachute descent that could potentially serve as a flashback to John’s military service.
Many questions remain unanswered after this first glimpse (such as who the primary villain will be, or whether other Lanterns or DC heroes will make appearances), but one thing is clear: there’s no sign of the silly, tongue-in-cheek tone that Ryan Reynolds and director Martin Campbell gave the character in 2011. Initially, the trailer appears to be avoiding the more supernatural aspects of the Green Lantern Corps, but viewers will be able to assess exactly how faithfully the series adheres to its source material when it debuts on streaming later this year.