DC Studios head James Gunn must have heard those complaints. “Where’s the green in Lanterns?” “Aren’t these characters superheroes?” “Is this show just set on Earth?” Because, in the latest trailer for the upcoming DC series, all of those questions get answered and more.
On August 16, Lanterns comes to HBO Max. It’s the latest story from Gunn’s DC Universe, and it stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as comic book favorites Hal Jordan and John Stewart. The story is mainly set on Earth, but in this new trailer, we get to see things off Earth, with plenty more green, and lots of confirmation that yes, these are certainly DC superheroes.
Obviously, we haven’t seen Lanterns yet, but if we had to guess, the first trailer was probably a more accurate depiction of what the show is and this one is more what the fans want to see. Certainly all of the cosmic Green Lantern stuff is in there—with the DC cameos and more—but we just have this feeling that it’s much more sporadic in the series itself than this flash trailer leads on.
That’s probably a good thing, though. Gunn’s Superman may have introduced the idea of Green Lanterns in the form of Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, but here’s a show where we can see a human being really understand what it means to be a Green Lantern. That connection and understanding are crucial with such a big, cosmic idea. So, choosing to do that with a more grounded, Earth-based detective story at first makes sense. If it’s done right, this could be the perfect entry point to explore the Green Lantern Corps much more in the future. And, don’t forget Pierre is expected to reprise the role in next summer’s Man of Tomorrow. So the wheels are already in motion.
It’s also awesome to get confirmation that Laura Linney is in this, making her comic book film debut. Plus, we cannot forget that Lanterns is partially from the minds of Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, Lost) and Tom King (Supergirl, Batman). They co-write and will executive produce the show along with Chris Mundy (Ozark), who is the showrunner.
Lanterns debuts on August 16. What’s your level of excitement?
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