{"id":427965,"date":"2026-05-14T22:11:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T22:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/427965\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T22:11:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T22:11:10","slug":"lanterns-will-follow-two-mysteries-across-two-timelines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/427965\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Lanterns’ Will Follow Two Mysteries Across Two Timelines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having sorted out the case of the disappearing trailer (it\u2019s back now, and there was a boringly normal reason<\/a> for its brief absence), Lanterns is now revealing pieces of a far more interesting mystery: what, exactly, its plot will be about.<\/p>\n

We already knew that the DC Studios series, arriving August 16 on HBO and HBO Max, will follow Green Lantern Corps. members played by Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler as they investigate a case in small-town Nebraska. And we could tell it\u2019s leaning into a gritty, grounded tone<\/a>\u2014Peacemaker<\/a>, this is not.<\/p>\n

As for its story, showrunner Chris Mundy told Entertainment Weekly<\/a> that a different HBO show offered some major inspiration: True Detective, specifically its first season. Like that series, Lanterns will explore its characters across two different time periods.<\/p>\n

In 2016, we\u2019ll see Hal Jordan (Chandler) investigating a shooting that he believes is alien-related, a perspective not shared by the skeptical local sheriff (Kelly Macdonald). At that time, John Stewart (Pierre) is a new recruit who Hal is pressed into working with. Then, in sequences that take place a decade later, the case will expand to include \u201csomething else,\u201d according to Mundy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat becomes a second mystery that we know is down the road for us,\u201d he hinted to EW. \u201cSo eventually two different mysteries get worked out over the course of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also added that, much like True Detective, Lanterns will be \u201cless of a whodunnit\u201d and more concerned with \u201cwhat happened and why? We think of this as a relationship show between John and Hal, and there\u2019s a lot to unpack over the course of the eight episodes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mundy also weighed in on the \u201cgreen\u201d kerfluffle<\/a> sparked when a joking remark made by co-creator Damon Lindelof resurfaced and raised the ire of Green Lantern comics legend Grant Morrison.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could have put out a trailer that was tremendously green,\u201d Mundy said, referencing complaints that the clip made Lanterns look more dusty and monochrome than superhero shows tend to be. \u201cSo the fact that people are talking about it just means, to me, that they\u2019re excited about the show. We have a lot of respect for the source material; otherwise, we wouldn\u2019t be doing this show. I think when people see it, it won\u2019t be a controversy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Head to EW<\/a> to read Mundy\u2019s teases of how Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) and Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) will factor into the show as well.<\/p>\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel<\/a>, Star Wars<\/a>, and Star Trek<\/a> releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV<\/a>, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Having sorted out the case of the disappearing trailer (it\u2019s back now, and there was a boringly normal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,65975,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-427965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-lanterns","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}