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brightest day, blackest night<\/p>\n
\n DC\u2019s Green Lantern is reimagined as part True Detective, part Slow Horses, and we\u2019re here for it.\n <\/p>\n
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 \u201cGods and Monsters<\/a>\u201d chapter. \u00a0But they\u2019re getting a bit more serious with the latest installment: Lanterns<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n The logline says the show will focus on two versions of the Green Lantern who find themselves \u201cdrawn into a dark, Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American Heartland\u201d (i.e., Nebraska). Will it work? We\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n Kyle Chandler plays Hal Jordan, a former test pilot who is nearing his retirement from the Green Lantern Corps. He\u2019s 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\u2019s husband; Garret Dillahunt as William Macon, Kerry\u2019s cowboy father-in-law; Poorna Jagannathan as a woman named Zoe; Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, a former Corps member who\u2019s gone rogue; and Paul Ben-Victor as an extraterrestrial called Antaan.<\/p>\n Kyle Chandler co-stars as Hal Jordan, a Green Lantern Corps member who is nearing retirement.<\/p>\n \n YouTube\/HBO\n <\/p>\n \n Kyle Chandler co-stars as Hal Jordan, a Green Lantern Corps member who is nearing retirement.<\/p>\n YouTube\/HBO<\/p>\n Aaron Pierre plats John Stewart (Jr.), a new recruit who is training with Hal.<\/p>\n \n YouTube\/HBO\n <\/p>\n \n Aaron Pierre plats John Stewart (Jr.), a new recruit who is training with Hal.<\/p>\n YouTube\/HBO<\/p>\n \n Kyle Chandler co-stars as Hal Jordan, a Green Lantern Corps member who is nearing retirement.<\/p>\n YouTube\/HBO<\/p>\n \n Aaron Pierre plats John Stewart (Jr.), a new recruit who is training with Hal.<\/p>\n YouTube\/HBO<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s wondering when he\u2019ll get a chance to wear the special Lantern ring. Hal tells him not to \u201cget hung up on the jewelry\u201d and insists he won\u2019t be ready \u201cuntil the ring says you are.\u201d 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. \u201cYou wanted me to train you, I\u2019m training you,\u201d Hal shrugs.<\/p>\n That sets up a broody buddy-cop vibe\u2014I can\u2019t wait for them to debate whether time is a flat circle<\/a>\u2014but 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\u2019t 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\u2019p, 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\u2019re here for it.<\/p>\n Lanterns will premiere on HBO in August 2026.<\/p>\n
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