The DCU under James Gunn and Peter Safran took its biggest swing with a relatively safe superhero project: A live-action summer blockbuster centered around the timeless and adored character of Superman (David Corenswet). Since then, Gunn and Safran have used their opportunities in film and on television to round out corners of their comic-book universe with characters that have been previously ignored (Creature Commandos, Peacemaker) or underused in the past (Supergirl).
Their upcoming endeavor, the 8-part HBO Max thriller Lanternsis the most ambitious reclamation project to date – a modest-budget live-action murder mystery set in the Green Lantern universe that builds on the existing DCU while, hopefully, wiping clean any memories causal audiences have of the feature-length Ryan Reynolds debacle from 2011.
It’s also the best project released in the DCU to date.
Aaron Pierre Is Generational Casting for the DCU
When Lanterns was first announced, the pitch described it as “True Detectivebut with Lanterns,” and the best compliment I can pay the new series is that it lives up to that expectation.
Created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and DC Comics icon Tom King, Lanterns tells an engrossing murder mystery story set in the American heartland that happens to have ties to the intergalactic happenings of the Green Lantern Corps. The Lanterns, in the DC Comics mythology, are space cops assigned to patrol specific sections of our vast galaxy. Though the HBO series stays mostly Earthbound as it expands on the DCU Lanterns, the imagination at play in the characters, their motivations, and the overall stakes knows no boundaries.
Audiences have met a Green Lantern member in the DCU already. Firefly standout Nathan Fillion played the unconventional Guy Gardner in Gunn’s Superman film, then briefly returned for Season 2 of John Cena’s Peacemaker. But HBO’s Lanterns focuses on two other Green Lantern corp members who are much more recognizable to comics collectors: Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and his protégé, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre).
The dynamic shared between these lead characters breaks little dramatic ground. Jordan is the hotshot veteran putting his stoic student Stewart through the wringer in hopes of proving that he’s capable of one day wearing the Green Lantern ring. They are partners and rivals who spend as much time bickering and posturing as they do working the case.
But this old cop/young cop interplay works so well in Lanterns because Chandler and Pierre are perfect choices to embody the iconic DC characters of Hal Jordan and John Stewart. And I’d even go so far as to say that when all is said and done, Pierre’s casting as Stewart will rank alongside Hugh Jackman’s casting as Wolverine, or Robert Downey Jr. stepping into the role of Tony Stark. Pierre, who impressed audiences with his performance in Rebel Ridgelooks, acts, talks and behaves like John Stewart from the comic book page. He brings a fearlessness, a determination, a frustration and a nobility that serves that character beautifully, and his future in the DCU is beyond bright.
The Show Balances Plot and Lore Beautifully
The other reason Lanterns works is because the central story continuously unfolds with surprising details and unexpected detours. This is where the strength of showrunners Mundy and Lindelof factors in. Together, the two shepherded television dramas like Ozark, Lost, Watchmen and The Leftovers. Those shows weren’t without fault. But while watching them, you understood that they had firm hands behind the wheel in the writers’ rooms, and the same can be said of the guiding forces on Lanterns.
This show covers a lot of ground, but never leaves the audience confused. Mythology is mapped out, generally with Hal explaining things to John, or to a town member curious about the crimes being committed in their community. I loved the way this dense story was paced. In fact, if I take one issue with the show’s presentation, it’s that the weekly release of episodes will frustrate fans who won’t want to wait for the next installment when they get to the end of an episode. There’s a propulsion to the narrative that will be rewarded for those who choose to wait, and binge. Just, good luck dodging spoilers if you go that route.
The Green Lantern story can be difficult to adapt without proper budget, or proper imagination. The Lantern Corp consists of numerous creatures from far-away worlds. There’s even a Lantern named Ch’p, who is mentioned in the show and resembles a squirrel. Lanterns appears to have enough of both to satisfy. Fans looking for exquisite green constructs created by Hal Jordan’s ring in the midst of intergalactic space battle might be disappointed. This story doesn’t call for that level of spectacle. But the way that Lanterns weaves through the lore of the Lanterns is bound to surprise and satisfy longtime fans of the series.
Lanterns is magnificent. It’s a mature, dark mystery that’s carried by two impeccably cast leads that packs numerous surprises in every episode. It rapidly sets the table, then wastes no time plunging audiences into a multi-layered story that sufficiently beefs up the Lantern-shaped corner of the developing DCU map. And I can’t say enough incredible things about Pierre, who IS John Stewart, personified. It’s the most exciting bit of comic book casting I’ve seen in decades, and a sturdy foundation upon which years of thrilling, evocative and innovative Green Lantern stories can be told.
Lanterns premieres August 16 at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
Lanterns
- Release Date
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August 16, 2026
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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Chris Mundy
- Directors
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James Hawes
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Aaron Pierre
John Stewart
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- Aaron Pierre is perfect casting
- It weaves in a lot of interesting comics lore
- The central mystery packs surprises
- Waiting each week for a new episode will be very tough
