LANTERNS Has Way More Visual Effects Than You Think, and This New Video Proves It

HBO’s Lanterns might look like a grounded detective series, but there’s a lot more digital magic happening on screen than DCU fans probably realize.

A new behind-the-scenes video reveals just how much VFX work went into bringing the world of the Green Lanterns to life, including some impressive effects that viewers likely never noticed.

CoSA VFX recently shared a featurette breaking down the visual effects used throughout the first season, and much of the work involved transforming real-world locations into the fictional town of Rushville, Nebraska.

Although a significant portion of Lanterns was filmed in California, the creative team needed the environments to look like rural Nebraska. That meant digitally removing California's recognizable trees and mountains, replacing landscapes, and adding environmental details to make everything feel authentic.

Overall VFX Producer Eddie Bonin and CoSA VFX Supervisor Christopher Lance explained how their team rebuilt portions of these locations digitally while making sure the effects blended naturally with the live-action footage.

“Our dynamics team simulated dust clouds and bullet hits to match the plates in cases where we had to remove LA trees and mountains,” the team shared.

It's the kind of visual effects work that can easily go unnoticed, which is exactly what makes it so cool. Rather than filling the screen with massive alien constructs and flashy Green Lantern powers, the artists spent considerable time making ordinary environments look convincing.

The featurette also explores how the VFX team handled the changing appearance of John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, as the character ages during an extended mission.

“There were a lot of discussions about marking the passage of time, and the determination was that we needed to show Jon’s hair and beard growth during his extended mission,” Lance explained. “So, we were really fortunate to have the scans of Pierre’s face so we could generate the right hair length onto his precise geometry.”

Using detailed facial scans of Pierre, the artists were able to digitally adjust Stewart's hair and beard to reflect the passage of time. It's a cool example of how visual effects can help tell a story without drawing attention to themselves.

Of course, all that work comes at a considerable cost. Lanterns reportedly carried a massive $160 million production budget, making it one of HBO's most expensive series.

With Season 1 having wrapped up, HBO has yet to officially renew the DCU series for a second season. That doesn't necessarily mean the show is finished, though, as HBO sometimes takes months to make renewal decisions.

DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran recently addressed the possibility of continuing the series, saying: “If we’re able to come up with what we believe to be a worthy successor to a beloved and great first season, that’s what’s going to dictate whether there’s a second season.”

For now, the future of Lanterns remains uncertain, especially considering its hefty price tag. But this new behind-the-scenes footage offers an awesome look at how much work went into creating the series, including visual effects most fans wouldn't even think to look for.

It's pretty amazing to see how much digital artistry goes into making a superhero show feel like it was filmed in the real world.