The upcoming Lanterns series follows Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) in a True Detective-style mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland. We’ve known the show would span different timelines for some time, but Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy shared more details about how that will work during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Lanterns Timelines
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. 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.
Will it Be Green?
The first teaser trailer was noticeably light on actual Green Lantern action, and the colour green was largely absent. Lanterns co-creator and writer Damon Lindelof also sparked controversy by making a joke about the show’s title. “It’s called Lanterns, because we all agreed that the Green was stupid, so now it’s just Lanterns,” he said. After the outcry, he apologized.
In reference to the controversy, Mundy made sure to mention, “It’s a Green Lantern show, so there’s green.“
“The aesthetic of the show — it’s supposed to be very grounded and real, so we’re shooting practically in places,” he said. “We’re not heavily green-screened. It’s not like day glow in its presentation of anything. I think Green Lantern fans will not feel like we’ve somehow made a brown show of their green comic at all. It’s very much ‘we’re in the world,’ and then when we use the constructs, they’re what people would expect them to be.“
Lanterns will premiere on HBO on August 16.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed