Now, this is more like it! After a moody yet snoozy teaser trailer for DC Studios‘ Lanterns was banned online due to an expired music license for Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper,” a new look at the gritty space cop drama is shining brightly online. Straight up, this is the teaser trailer DC should have launched with, as it gives us a much better idea of what to expect when the series debuts on HBO and HBO Max on August 16, 2026.
What happens in the new Lanterns teaser trailer?
The new Lanterns teaser trailer finds Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan giving John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) a stern talking to about the responsibility of wearing the Green Lantern’s ring. It’s clear the duo have opposing views about what it takes to earn the ring, and Jordan’s not about to let his go without a fight. As the trailer continues, DC treats us to a montage of action scenes, destruction in the streets, corruption of power, and a question that every potential Lantern must ask themselves: Are you afraid? By the end of the trailer, it looks as if a shady law enforcement outfit wants Stewart to take the ring from Jordan by any means necessary; perhaps that’s why they meet in the first place. I’m not sure.
The story opens in 2016, after a shooting takes place in the small rural town of Rushville, Nebraska. Hal Jordan, who has been monitoring the town from a distance for some time, believes the incident has extraterrestrial origins. But local sheriff Kerry, played by Kelly Macdonald, finds nothing to back up his theory.
Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy on the show’s complex timeline
Chris Mundy said that the show will leap forward by ten years to “something else” in 2026.
“That becomes a second mystery that we know is down the road for us,” he teased. “So eventually two different mysteries get worked out over the course of the show.” He added that the two timelines of the show will “create emotional mysteries.”
Other Green Lanterns
Mundy said the “fabulously obnoxious” Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) will “be in the show a few different times,” but what about the other Green Lanterns? I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
“There are a bunch of other people from the mythology, from the canon, but not the other Lanterns,” Mundy said. “We talk about them at different times, but they’re not gonna interact with them in the course of this season.”
However, Lanterns has been designed as a multi-season show, so we could see more Green Lanterns pop up in future seasons.
What do you think about the new Lanterns teaser trailer? It’s much better than the first, but I’m still not sold 100%. Much of the show will depend on the overall tone and whether or not other Lanterns integrate well with the Earth-focused storyline. I remain optimistic and excited to check this out when it arrives in August.
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