The first look at John Stewart on the far side of the Lanterns time jump may finally be here, courtesy of DC Studios' newest tease. Aaron Pierre plays the Green Lantern recruit in the upcoming HBO series, which tells its story across two timelines set in 2016 and 2026. Until now, every trailer mostly showed footage from the earlier period, where a clean-shaven John trains under Kyle Chandler’s veteran Hal Jordan.
On Thursday, July 23, HBO Max posted a short teaser announcing that the official Lanterns trailer debuts the following day. Tucked inside the preview is a quick shot of Pierre’s John drenched in rain with a look of terror on his face, now sporting a full beard. No earlier footage showed him with one, which strongly suggests the moment comes from the modern-day 2026 timeline and marks his first appearance a decade removed from his training days.
Beyond the bearded John, the preview also sneaks in a fleeting glimpse of Hal suited up in his Green Lantern uniform as he takes flight, plus a massive tornado-like construct ripping across the sky.
The full trailer arrives on Friday, July 24, the same day Lanterns takes over Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con. That panel serves as the final major stop before the series premieres on Sunday, August 16 on HBO and HBO Max.
Showrunner Chris Mundy already explained how the two periods will work. The story begins in 2016 with a shooting in the small town of Rushville, Nebraska, an incident Hal believes involves something alien, even if the local sheriff, played by Kelly Macdonald, doubts him.
That earlier storyline reportedly picks up two months into John’s training, while the 2026 side revolves around events the creative team is keeping under wraps for now.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Mundy teased that the later period will give viewers "a second mystery" to untangle alongside the first:
"That becomes a second mystery that we know is down the road for us. So eventually two different mysteries get worked out over the course of the show."
Created by Mundy alongside Damon Lindelof and Tom King, Lanterns follows John and Hal, two intergalactic cops pulled into a dark, Earth-based murder investigation in the American heartland. Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Nicole Ari Parker, and Jason Ritter are among the cast starring in the eight-episode season.
Lanterns' Dual Timeline Will Have a Major Influence on the Broader DCU
The 2026 half of the show lines up with the DCU’s present day. Superman and Peacemaker Season 2 already established what this universe looks like right now, and Lanterns joins that same moment in time. Whatever its second mystery uncovers instantly becomes current canon, and the movies that follow will need to live with it. James Gunn and Peter Safran called the series "a foundational part of the unified DCU" when they first announced it, and the timeline choice shows they meant it.
The 2016 half might be even more valuable. Every DCU project so far has taken place in the present, in a world where heroes existed long before the cameras started rolling, yet audiences have not really seen any of that prior history. Lanterns is the first story to go back and show some of it. A lot must have happened in the years before Clark Kent put on his cape, and it'll be exciting to get a glimpse of major events that took place back then. Details revealed from that past could also influence other DCU stories down the line.
The series also gives the wider universe its Green Lantern. Guy Gardner already popped up in Superman, but John Stewart is clearly the Green Lantern DC wants at the center of the franchise going forward. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Pierre will appear in Man of Tomorrow on July 9, 2027, and the older John in this teaser looks like the version who would turn up there. By the time that film arrives, viewers will already know who he is and what it cost him to get there.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
