In brightest day, in blackest night, a teaser for HBO‘s Lanterns is finally here! After several false starts to bring DC’s Green Lantern universe back to audiences, the studio’s Lanterns has finally unveiled a trailer for the upcoming series, which arrives this August. DC’s Lanterns gives us two of the best characters ever to wield the power ring: Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). The series follows these two intergalactic cops as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.
What Does the Lanterns Teaser Show Us?
DC’s Lanterns teaser trailer offers a wildly different take on the Green Lantern IP, with Jordan and Stewart investigating a crime in a dusty town while completely devoid of the cosmic landscape that traditionally accompanies the property. The teaser focuses primarily on Jordan and Stewart’s clash of personalities, with Jordan taking an old-school approach to crime-solving while Stewart tires of operating with what feels like training wheels. Jordan isn’t ready to let Stewart off the chain, but as things intensify, Jordan must learn to accept Stewart’s expertise if they want to make it out of their situation alive.
Is This the Right Tone for a Green Lantern Series?
While the teaser sets the tone of DC’s Lanterns, I’m not sure how I feel about this preview. On its face, the show looks cool, as far as pulpy detective yarns set in a small town are concerned, but does that say Green Lantern to me? I’m not sure. Another thing missing from the preview is any look at the Green Lantern power set. Sure, Hal Jordan flies into the sky at one point, but that’s hardly what Green Lanterns are known for. You’d think it would be impossible for Lanterns not to include any green, glowing manifestations of imagination, but with this grounded approach to the characters, who knows?
Lanterns Co-creator and Showrunner Teases the New Series
Last year, co-creator and showrunner Chris Mundy confirmed a few details during a Men’s Health interview, including that it will span different time periods, which is one way Lanterns is similar to True Detective.
“Our story takes place in a couple of different time periods and so the challenge was for the characters be consistent at their core,” Mundy said. “John’s sort of a different person in one of them than he is in another. And I do think the physicality and magnetism that Aaron brings to the role brought that all together. That theater training, that wanting to be in the minutia of the work and the craft, it really added to John’s character from all sides. It added dimension to the more physical side of the role, and to the more emotional, creative part of the role.”
“Mundy added that they wanted a kind of buddy cop vibe between Hal and John. “Kyle’s character has kind of a throwback Chuck Yeager vibe to him. He’s the kind of guy who you meet, and you don’t know whether you like him or you want to punch him,” he said. “Then there’s Aaron, who has a quiet authority about him, and I think that’s important to their dynamic, to the story we’re telling. And literally from day one, Kyle started giving Aaron shit for being young and inexperienced. And then Aaron started giving Kyle shit for being an old man. You’d see it in between takes too—they’d start messing with each other would just keep sitting there playing with that dynamic in the best way. And because all the dialogue is supposed to be in a very back-and-forth style, they were into that rhythm before they even got into those scenes.”
For the Love of Batman’s Cowl, Adapt Far Sector
Now that we have a better idea of what we can expect from this long-gestating series – are you psyched? Combining Green Lantern with True Detective-like elements sounds like a can’t-miss setup for one of DC’s most beloved properties. Now, if only I could convince Gunn to make a Far Sector series. That would be pure perfection!
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed