DC's New Lanterns Trailer Finally Embraces Superhero Action

by · /Film

As of 2026, James Gunn's DC Universe is in full swing. "Supergirl" rockets into movie theaters in June building off the success of last year's "Superman," while "Clayface" will test if DC fans will follow their favorite heroes into a body horror movie. And it's not just movies where DC is breaking out: TV series "Lanterns" is premiering on HBO Max in August, and has just dropped a new trailer.

Green Lantern is often compared to a police officer. The Green Lantern Corps is a galactic organization that assigns its ringbearing members to safeguard a particular sector of space, like a beat in a city. (For reference, Earth is in Sector 2814.) "Lanterns" is leaning into that — it's a buddy cop murder mystery about veteran Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and rookie John Stewart (Aaron Pierre, coming off of "Rebel Ridge") set in Midwest USA.

The first trailer for "Lanterns" inspired comparisons to "True Detective" — watching it blind, you could be forgiven for thinking it wasn't even a sci-fi series. (There was also a small brouhaha over "Lanterns" co-creator Damon Lindelof claiming in jest that "Green Lantern" is a silly name.) The 2011 "Green Lantern" film starring Ryan Reynolds embraced the fantasy space opera of the comics, and was a huge flop. That's why Green Lantern didn't get to star in "Justice League," and probably contributes to the franchise's second chance being something lower budget like "Lanterns." Will it work?