HBO Max's new series "Lanterns" is threading Green Lantern Corps directly into the wider DC Universe, as veteran Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler, trains new recruit John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, while the pair investigate an extraterrestrial incident in rural Nebraska. The show premiered Aug. 16 and is releasing new episodes weekly through Oct. 4.
"Lanterns" is the latest project in DC Comics' reset, Chapter One: Gods and Monsters, which also includes the movies "Superman," "Supergirl" and "Clayface." DC co-CEO James Gunn told Rolling Stone last October that the connections between the projects are intentional.
"Those things are worked in," Gunn said, also pointing to "Supergirl." "We knew both of those stories were a part of what we originally put together, so they're part of the overall tapestry, but they're also their own thing."
"There's just a longer, sort of a bigger world we're building with all these different pieces," Gunn continued. "They do all come together and intersect sometimes in a story fashion and sometimes just in a 'Here's another piece of the world' fashion. 'Lanterns' is really important in setting up things."
A story that spans four decades
"Lanterns" is set mainly in 2016, during the Nebraska crash Hal and John are investigating, but the series also jumps to three other years. In 1986, Hal is chosen as Green Lantern over John's father, John Stewart Sr., played by Sherman Augustus. In 1996, Hal reveals his identity to the world during a "60 Minutes" interview that a young John watches on television. In 2026, John finds Hal's dead body frozen in Rushville, Nebraska, without his ring.
Superman, played by David Corenswet, crash-lands on Earth around the same time as Hal's 1996 reveal, as shown in the opening sequence of 2025's "Superman" movie.
The Nebraska setting also brings in Rushville Sheriff Kerry Kane, played by Kelly Macdonald, who has swapped the grit of Batman's Gotham City for the quiet cornfields of the Midwest. Hal and John have to work with her as they unravel the mystery. By 2016, Hal had spent nearly two months training John at the order of the Guardians of the Universe, with little progress to show for it.
Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner cameo
Nathan Fillion reprises his role as Guy Gardner, the brash Justice Gang member, following appearances in "Superman" and season two of "Peacemaker." His cameo in "Lanterns" starts connecting the story's threads, since Guy was previously seen wearing Hal's ring while helping Superman stop the fictional nation of Boravia from invading Jarhanpur.
"At the end of this episode, Hal is dead," "Lanterns" co-creator Tom King explained on the Aug. 16 episode of "Lanterns: The Official Podcast." "But also, you see John's hand. He's not wearing that ring. Guy has the ring."
King raised the questions the twist leaves open: "Why does Guy end up with the ring? Where do we go after this? 'Cause this moves us forward."
The setup differs from the comics, where John is Guy's backup rather than Hal's. In that version, John ends up with the ring after Guy is hit by a bus and is unable to perform his duties.
Guy Gardner has now appeared in more DC projects than any other Green Lantern character so far, a distinction Fillion welcomes. "I like the idea that he is the connective tissue," the "Rookie" star told Screen Rant in August. "He's the thread that weaves throughout the fabric of this universe."
