Hal Jordan and John Stewart are taking a break from their murder investigation in ScreenRant’s exclusive new image from HBO’s upcoming Lanterns series.
The photo, which features Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as two members of the Green Lantern Corps, is part of our official Summer 2026 TV Preview. It reveals John (Pierre) and Hal (Chandler) having a few drinks in a rural small-town bar while in the midst of their murder investigation. While parts of Lanterns will be set in Iowa, much of the investigation takes place in Sheridan County, Nebraska, which some of the locals aren’t too happy about.
Lanterns HBO Exclusive – ScreenRant Summer TV Preview 2026Credit: John Johnson/HBO
The exclusive image may suggest that John and Hal are taking a break from their investigation, but it’s likely that they are getting closer to locals, looking for answers. Based on their expressions in the photo, they may have come to the right place. The image also notably highlights Hal Jordan’s power ring.
Since John is a new recruit, he’s still forced to wait before wearing the ring. The Lanterns trailer features John questioning Hal about how much longer until he gets to wear it, especially since he has been training under Hal for over two months. Hal then uses John’s focus on the “jewelry” as a teaching moment, leaving the ring on the dashboard of the car as he jumps out of the driver’s seat, as the vehicle heads over a cliff with John still inside.
Lanterns might be a superhero show set within the DCU, but it will also serve as a gritty detective series. Seeing as the core characters are intergalactic peacekeepers, it won’t be your traditional mystery series, embracing a different kind of buddy cop dynamic as Hal trains his eventual replacement. Of course, being in the DCU means there will be plenty of surprises in store, connecting to the larger shared universe.
Nathan Fillion, who plays Guy Gardner in the DCU, will appear in Lanterns. The show will also feature Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, a former member of the Green Lantern Corps who was once Hal’s mentor. In DC Comics lore, Sinestro serves as Hal’s arch nemesis, so his presence in the HBO series will likely complicate Hal and John’s investigation.
Sector 2814 · Ring Active
How Well Do You Know Lanterns?
“In brightest day, in blackest night…”
💍The RingPowered by will
🔦The Corps3,600 sectors
🌌OaThe Guardians
👮Earth BeatSector 2814
⚠Yellow
PerilThe fear entity
ACTIVATE RING →
01
Lanterns is one of the tentpole TV series launching James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe. On which streaming platform does it air?
ANetflix
BHBO Max
CDisney+
DApple TV+
✓ Correct! HBO Max — Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streamer and the natural home for DCU prestige TV alongside Peacemaker and The Penguin. Lanterns is positioned as the DCU’s high-end serialised drama counterpart to Gunn’s theatrical Superman relaunch, sharing canon with the films. Disney+ runs Marvel; Netflix and Apple are rival streamers.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is HBO Max. Netflix has had various superhero shows but not DCU. Disney+ is Marvel’s home. Apple TV+ doesn’t house DC. HBO Max is Warner Bros. Discovery’s streamer and the TV home of the Gunn/Safran DCU — Lanterns joins Peacemaker and upcoming DCU series there.
NEXT →
02
Unlike most Green Lantern adaptations, Lanterns pairs two Earth-based ring-bearers in a buddy-cop framework — a weathered veteran and a newer recruit partnered together on Sector 2814 duty. Which two Lanterns lead the show?
AHal Jordan & Guy Gardner
BHal Jordan & John Stewart
CJohn Stewart & Kyle Rayner
DHal Jordan & Kyle Rayner
✓ Correct! Hal Jordan and John Stewart — two of the most beloved Earth-assigned Lanterns — are paired as the show’s central duo. Hal is the hot-shot test-pilot veteran, John the disciplined ex-Marine architect with a sharper sense of justice. The pairing draws heavily from the Geoff Johns comics era and lets the show explore two very different philosophies of what a Green Lantern should be.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Guy Gardner (played by Nathan Fillion) is a separate DCU character who appears in the 2025 Superman film. Kyle Rayner is a beloved Lantern but not part of this show. The Lanterns duo is the Hal/John pairing — a pointedly contrasting veteran and recruit on Sector 2814 duty together.
NEXT →
03
The role of Hal Jordan — the weathered, test-pilot-turned-space-cop original Earth Lantern — went to a veteran actor best known as Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights and for leading Bloodline. Who plays Hal?
ARyan Reynolds (reprising)
BKyle Chandler
CNathan Fillion
DChris Pine
✓ Correct! Kyle Chandler — Emmy winner for Friday Night Lights, star of Bloodline, and part of the Monsterverse (Godzilla: King of the Monsters) — plays an older, weathered Hal Jordan. James Gunn wanted a seasoned, grounded presence rather than a rookie. Ryan Reynolds played Hal in 2011’s widely-mocked Green Lantern film (a different continuity); Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner in the 2025 Superman film.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Kyle Chandler. Ryan Reynolds’ Hal was the 2011 film (a separate, mostly-disowned continuity). Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner in the 2025 Superman film — not Hal. Chris Pine isn’t in the DCU. Chandler’s weathered, Friday-Night-Lights gravitas is exactly the mature Hal energy Gunn wanted for the show.
NEXT →
04
John Stewart — ex-Marine sniper, architect, and one of DC’s most iconic Black heroes — is played by a British actor who broke out in Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad and Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge. Who is he?
AAaron Pierre
BWinston Duke
CSterling K. Brown
DJohn Boyega
✓ Correct! Aaron Pierre — the British actor who earned raves as Caesar in The Underground Railroad (2021) and carried Netflix’s Rebel Ridge (2024) with a performance frequently compared to early Denzel Washington. Gunn called his casting “a no-brainer.” Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown and John Boyega are all great actors but not in the role.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Aaron Pierre. Winston Duke is M’Baku in the Marvel universe. Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us, American Fiction) is Marvel-adjacent too. John Boyega famously played Finn in Star Wars. Pierre’s Rebel Ridge performance — playing a disciplined ex-Marine — is essentially his audition for John Stewart, and Gunn’s team cast him off it.
NEXT →
05
James Gunn has repeatedly pitched Lanterns as a grounded, small-town murder-mystery thriller — where the space-cop rings are secondary to a detective case on Earth. Which acclaimed HBO series is his go-to tonal comparison?
ATrue Detective
BThe Wire
CWestworld
DWatchmen
✓ Correct! Gunn has explicitly called Lanterns his “True Detective in the DCU” — a slow-burn, atmospheric, character-driven case with superhero elements layered over a grounded murder mystery. Showrunner Chris Mundy actually did True Detective: Night Country duties, bringing that DNA directly. Watchmen (Damon Lindelof) was also cited, and Lindelof has consulting writer credits, but True Detective is the primary comp.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is True Detective. Gunn has named it as the explicit tonal blueprint — a slow-burn, character-driven murder mystery with superhero elements layered over it. Chris Mundy, the show’s runner, worked on True Detective: Night Country, bringing the DNA directly. Watchmen was a secondary comp (Damon Lindelof consults), but True Detective is the primary pitch.
NEXT →
06
When James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as DC Studios co-CEOs in 2022, they announced a rebooted slate of interconnected films and TV shows — with Lanterns among the launch titles. What is this first DCU phase officially called?
AChapter 1: Gods and Monsters
BCrisis on Infinite Earths
CThe Flashpoint Initiative
DDark Knights Rising
✓ Correct! Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters — announced in January 2023 as the Gunn/Safran DCU’s opening slate. It includes Superman (2025), The Authority, Supergirl, The Brave and the Bold, Paradise Lost, Waller, Creature Commandos, and of course Lanterns. Crisis on Infinite Earths is a comics event; Flashpoint and Dark Knights are other DC storylines, not the chapter branding.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. Crisis on Infinite Earths is a famous DC comics crossover event (and Arrowverse crossover) but not a DCU chapter label. Flashpoint was referenced in The Flash (2023) from the now-defunct DCEU. The Gunn/Safran era officially named its launch phase Gods and Monsters — Superman 2025, Lanterns, and related titles.
NEXT →
07
Green Lanterns serve the Guardians of the Universe, an ancient race who created the Corps’ 3,600-sector peacekeeping force and charge the Lantern rings from a central Power Battery on their home planet. What is the Guardians’ homeworld called?
AKrypton
BOa
CThemyscira
DApokolips
✓ Correct! Oa — the small blue-skinned Guardians’ home at the centre of the universe. It houses the Central Power Battery from which all Green Lantern rings draw their energy, and serves as the Corps’ academy and operational base. Krypton is Superman’s destroyed homeworld; Themyscira is Wonder Woman’s hidden Amazon island; Apokolips is Darkseid’s hellscape.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Oa. Krypton is Superman’s homeworld. Themyscira is Paradise Island where Wonder Woman was raised. Apokolips is Darkseid’s grim world in the Fourth World mythos. Oa is specifically the Guardians of the Universe’s planet — home to the Central Power Battery that fuels every Green Lantern ring in all 3,600 sectors.
NEXT →
08
Every Green Lantern recites the same oath when charging their ring — a four-line rhyming incantation that’s become one of the most famous pieces of verse in comic-book history. How does it famously begin?
A“In the darkest hour, a light shall rise…”
B“In brightest day, in blackest night…”
C“By the power of Oa, I serve…”
D“Ring of willpower, heed my call…”
✓ Correct! “In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil’s might / Beware my power — Green Lantern’s light!” The oath dates back to 1940’s All-American Comics #16, was refined through the Silver Age, and is considered one of DC’s most sacred bits of verse. Every canonical adaptation includes some version of it.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is “In brightest day, in blackest night…” The full oath: “No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil’s might / Beware my power — Green Lantern’s light!” It’s been canon since 1940 and remains one of comics’ most instantly recognisable pieces of verse — recited in every major Green Lantern adaptation.
REVEAL MY SCORE →
Ring Depowered · Report to Oa
Your Corps Rank
💍
/ 8
Honor Guard veteran — or still in Corps training?
⤴ RECHARGE RING
It will also be interesting to see how Hal’s past with Sinestro impacts his relationship with John. Based on their interactions, it’s obvious that Hal isn’t going to take it easy on the young recruit. Nearing retirement, Hal is known as a legend, and he certainly knows what it means to wear the Lantern ring, something that John still needs to learn.
Right now, Lanterns doesn’t have an exact release date, but it’s coming to HBO this August. This means the show will debut following the release of Supergirl, which is slated to release June 26. Following Lanterns’ eight-episode first season, the next entry in the DCU will be Clayface in October.
Release Date
August, 2026
Network
HBO
Showrunner
Chris Mundy
Aaron Pierre
John Stewart
Kelly Macdonald
Sheriff Kerry