When one hears about a new Green Lantern project, the expectation is to see lots of green, glowing power rings, superheroes, and extraterrestrial foes. But that’s not what you’re going to get from Lanterns, DC Studios’ new HBO series starring Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. Instead, what they’ll see is a show that resembles another HBO favorite, True Detective, as seen in the new trailer.
The similarity makes sense as showrunner Chris Munday was a writer on True Detective. Created by Damon Lindelof, Tom King, and Mundy, Lanterns “follows experienced Lantern Hal Jordan and new recruit John Stewart as they investigate a murder in Nebraska, which leads them to darker mysteries and reckonings.”
Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, and Ulrich Thomsen co-star, with Nicole Ari Parker, Jason Ritter, Paul Ben-Victor, and Sherman Augustus recurring. And if you were wondering if Nathan Fillion will reprise his Guy Gardner role from Superman, yep, he’ll be suiting up, too. Also, one of the oddest Green Lanterns gets referenced, the squirrel-like Ch’p of H’lven. Hopefully he makes a cameo.
Will this grounded approach to Lanterns work? In the past, such attempts have fallen flat with fans. But HBO has a strong track record with detective dramas, so there’s reason to be optimistic. We’ll find out when Lanterns premieres in August.
