Lanterns is an upcoming American television series based on DC Comics featuring the Green Lantern characters Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television, it will be the third television series in the DC Universe (DCU). It features Jordan and Stewart investigating a mystery on Earth. Chris Mundy serves as showrunner.
Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre respectively star as Hal Jordan and John Stewart, alongside Kelly Macdonald. Greg Berlanti began developing a Green Lantern television series by October 2019. After James Gunn and Peter Safran became co-CEOs of DC Studios in October 2022, the series was redeveloped. It was announced in January 2023, along with its detective story style which was inspired by the series True Detective (2014–present) and Slow Horses (2022–present). Mundy’s involvement alongside executive producers Tom King and Damon Lindelof was confirmed in mid-2024 when the series was ordered by HBO. Slow Horses’s James Hawes was hired to direct the first two episodes in October, when Chandler and Pierre were cast. Filming is taking place in Los Angeles from February to July 2025, with Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Alik Sakharov also directing.
“Lanterns,” an upcoming HBO series based on the DC Comics Green Lantern, will focus on a darker, grounded mystery with John Stewart and Hal Jordan as intergalactic cops, deviating from the typical cosmic scale of the Green Lantern mythos.
Here’s a more detailed look
Premise: The series, developed by James Gunn and Peter Safran, follows John Stewart and Hal Jordan as they investigate a murder in Nebraska, leading them into a dark, Earth-bound mystery with intergalactic stakes.
Tone: “Lanterns” is envisioned as a crime thriller, with a focus on a “very grounded, very believable, and very real” story, moving away from the typical superhero fare.
Characters: The series will feature the Green Lanterns John Stewart and Hal Jordan, with Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler playing the leads.
Grounded Story: Instead of focusing on large-scale space conflicts, the series will center on a murder investigation in the American heartland, making it more intimate and accessible.
Accessibility: James Gunn has said that the series is designed to be accessible to a wider audience.
