Lanterns teaser swaps superhero hijinks for gritty realism – Ars Technica
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brightest day, blackest night
DC’s Green Lantern is reimagined as part True Detective, part Slow Horses, and we’re here for it.
James Gunn and Peter Safran injected a much-needed shot of levity into the DC Universe when they took over the franchise and launched their “Gods and Monsters” chapter. But they’re getting a bit more serious with the latest installment: Lanterns, an eight-episode series that reimagines the Green Lantern mythology as a gritty prestige crime drama/spy thriller in the vein of True Detective and Slow Horses.
The logline says the show will focus on two versions of the Green Lantern who find themselves “drawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American Heartland” (i.e., Nebraska). Will it work? We’ll see. This series was barely on my radar before, but the extended teaser that dropped last night is tonally unique for the DCU and so well done that the show now has a place on my must-watch TV list for 2026.
Kyle Chandler plays Hal Jordan, a former test pilot who is nearing his retirement from the Green Lantern Corps. He’s training a new recruit, John Stewart Jr. (Aaron Pierre), to replace him. Nathan Fillion reprises his Superman role as the obnoxious Guy Gardner. The cast also includes Kelly McDonald as Kerry, a small-town family-oriented sheriff; Jason Ritter as Billy Macon, Kerry’s husband; Garret Dillahunt as William Macon, Kerry’s cowboy father-in-law; Poorna Jagannathan as a woman named Zoe; Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, a former Corps member who’s gone rogue; and Paul Ben-Victor as an extraterrestrial called Antaan.
Kyle Chandler co-stars as Hal Jordan, a Green Lantern Corps member who is nearing retirement.
YouTube/HBO
Kyle Chandler co-stars as Hal Jordan, a Green Lantern Corps member who is nearing retirement.
YouTube/HBO
Aaron Pierre plats John Stewart (Jr.), a new recruit who is training with Hal.
YouTube/HBO
Aaron Pierre plats John Stewart (Jr.), a new recruit who is training with Hal.
YouTube/HBO
Kyle Chandler co-stars as Hal Jordan, a Green Lantern Corps member who is nearing retirement.
YouTube/HBO
Aaron Pierre plats John Stewart (Jr.), a new recruit who is training with Hal.
YouTube/HBO
Sherman Augustus plays John Stewart Sr., with J. Alphonse Nicholson playing the younger version; Nicole Ari Parker plays Bernadette Stewart (mother to John Jr.), with Jasmine Cephas playing the young version of the character. In addition, Chris Coy plays a suspiciously nervous truck driver, Waylon Sanders; Cary Christopher plays a gifted child named Noah; and Laura Linney and Paula Patton will appear in as-yet-undisclosed guest roles.
As the teaser opens, our Lantern duo is driving down a rural road. John Jr. has been training for a couple of months, and he’s wondering when he’ll get a chance to wear the special Lantern ring. Hal tells him not to “get hung up on the jewelry” and insists he won’t be ready “until the ring says you are.” But since John is so keen, Hal suddenly bails out the door, and the car veers off a cliff. Cut to an annoyed John, alive and well, joining his mentor at an outdoor eatery. “You wanted me to train you, I’m training you,” Hal shrugs.
That sets up a broody buddy-cop vibe—I can’t wait for them to debate whether time is a flat circle—but the rest of the teaser shows them in increasing conflict, with John dismissing Hal as old and busted, clearly seeing himself as the new Lantern hotness. We don’t learn much about the plot, and there are very few overt references to the comics: the Power Ring, the Lantern suit, and Hal taking to the air. And we get a hint that we might be seeing Ch’p, an alien Lantern who is a talking squirrel. Gunn turned Rocket Raccoon into a pop culture sensation with Guardians of the Galaxy, so why not highlight another cute furry being? We’re here for it.
Lanterns will premiere on HBO in August 2026.
Jennifer Ouellette
Senior Writer
Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban.
