HBO max - Lanterns : The upcoming DCU series reveals its first trailer and a bold new tone for superhero television

By Mulder, 04 march 2026

HBO Max has officially unveiled the first trailer for Lanterns, the highly anticipated DC Studios television series starring Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, and Kelly Macdonald, confirming that the project will premiere in August 2026 on HBO in the United States and on HBO Max internationally. Produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television, the series immediately stands apart from previous adaptations of the Green Lantern mythology by embracing a grounded tone closer to a crime drama than a traditional superhero spectacle, an approach that had already been hinted at during industry presentations but now feels fully confirmed by the first footage released online. The trailer, which reveals a dark investigation unfolding in the American Midwest, strongly emphasizes atmosphere, character tension, and mystery, echoing the creative ambitions repeatedly mentioned by producers James Gunn and Peter Safran, who described the show as a key pillar of the new DC Universe timeline. For longtime observers of DC’s television strategy, the existence of this trailer alone feels like a small miracle, considering how many previous attempts to bring the Green Lantern mythos to television were abandoned, rewritten, or completely reimagined over the past several years.

The series was created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, with Chris Mundy also serving as showrunner, and the pedigree behind the project explains why the tone feels closer to prestige television than to classic comic-book storytelling. Chris Mundy, known for his work on Ozark, and Damon Lindelof, who previously developed the acclaimed HBO series Watchmen, reportedly wanted to build a story that would feel human, layered, and accessible even for viewers unfamiliar with DC Comics lore, while still respecting the mythology that fans expect. According to production notes and interviews released alongside the trailer, the writers deliberately avoided adapting a specific comic storyline, choosing instead to create an original investigation involving Hal Jordan and John Stewart, two of the most iconic Green Lanterns, whose partnership is described as both cooperative and conflicted, almost in the spirit of classic buddy-cop films. This approach was already mentioned when James Gunn and Peter Safran presented the first chapter of the new DC Universe, titled Gods and Monsters, and insisted that Lanterns would function as a crucial narrative bridge connecting several future projects.

In the series, Kyle Chandler plays veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan, while Aaron Pierre portrays John Stewart, a younger recruit who finds himself drawn into a murder investigation in Nebraska that quickly reveals a much larger conspiracy tied to the cosmic mythology of the Green Lantern Corps. Kelly Macdonald joins the cast as Sheriff Kerry, a character created for the show, while Nathan Fillion reprises the role of Guy Gardner, previously introduced in the new DC continuity, further confirming that the series is fully integrated into the larger cinematic and television universe being built by DC Studios. The supporting cast also includes Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Ulrich Thomsen, Nicole Ari Parker, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Sherman Augustus, Jason Ritter, and Paula Patton, illustrating the ambition of a production that clearly aims to match the scale of HBO’s major drama series rather than the format of a traditional superhero show. Several industry insiders have pointed out that the presence of actors known for dramatic television rather than blockbuster franchises reinforces the idea that the studio wants Lanterns to be perceived as a serious drama first and a comic-book adaptation second.

The road to this version of Lanterns has been unusually long and complicated, beginning as early as 2019 when producer Greg Berlanti first announced a Green Lantern series for HBO Max that was supposed to explore multiple timelines and characters, including Alan Scott and Guy Gardner, before being completely reworked after the creation of DC Studios under James Gunn and Peter Safran in 2022. That restructuring led to a full creative reset, with the new leadership deciding that the Green Lantern mythology should become a central element of the new DC Universe rather than an isolated streaming project. The change also explains why the current series focuses on Hal Jordan and John Stewart, characters that were previously unavailable for television because they were reserved for potential film projects. According to verified production information, the new version of the show was officially ordered in 2024, with James Hawes directing the first two episodes, followed by Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Alik Sakharov, while cinematography was handled by Armando Salas and Florian Hoffmeister, giving the series a visual style described by early viewers as cinematic and surprisingly restrained for a superhero production.

Filming took place in Los Angeles between February and July 2025 under the working title Latitude, with DC Studios intentionally moving the production to California to support local crews after the wildfires that affected the region earlier that year, a decision publicly confirmed by Peter Safran during a studio briefing. Behind the scenes, the creative team reportedly encouraged the actors to focus on the emotional flaws of their characters rather than their powers, a detail mentioned by Aaron Pierre, who explained that many scenes were built around the idea that both Hal Jordan and John Stewart are men trying to redeem themselves while facing a mystery that tests their moral limits. This emphasis on character over spectacle is also visible in the first promotional images released in 2025, which surprised fans by showing the heroes in civilian clothes rather than in their traditional green uniforms, reinforcing the idea that the series will spend as much time on Earth-bound drama as on cosmic adventure.

Scheduled to consist of eight episodes, Lanterns will be the third television series in the new DC Universe continuity and is expected to play a major role in setting up future stories, with James Gunn confirming that elements introduced in the show will connect to other projects planned for the coming years. The first trailer suggests a tone closer to True Detective or Slow Horses than to classic superhero television, a comparison that the creators themselves have openly embraced, and the footage already hints at a story mixing murder investigation, political intrigue, and science-fiction mythology. If the final result matches the ambition suggested by the trailer, Lanterns could become one of the most important DC television productions in years, not only because it introduces two of the franchise’s most famous heroes, but because it represents the first real test of the long-term vision put in place by James Gunn and Peter Safran, a vision that aims to rebuild the DC brand with a more coherent, more mature, and more interconnected storytelling approach.

Synopsis:
Two intergalactic cops, rookie John Stewart and legendary Hal Jordan, face a dark mystery on Earth as they investigate a murder in the heart of America.

Lanterns
Created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, Tom King
Based on Characters from DC
Showrunner : Chris Mundy
Starring Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Kelly Macdonald, Nathan Fillion
Executive producers : James Gunn, Peter Safran, Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, Tom King, James Hawes, Ron Schmidt
Cinematography : Armando Salas, Florian Hoffmeister
Editor : Emily E. Greene
Production companies : DC Studios, Warner Bros. Television
Network : HBO (United States), HBO Max (France)