The Green Lantern Corps is one of DC Comics' most intriguing concepts, an intergalactic police force powered by will, imagination, and emerald light. Two of its most beloved members are Hal Jordan and John Stewart, both Earth-born Lanterns whose histories in the comics stretch back decades. The uniqueness of the Green Lanterns also makes it very difficult to bring them to life in live action. After a couple of failed attempts, DC is trying again, and this time they're giving us the Green Lanterns team-up that we've waited 55 years to see on screen.
Hal Jordan and John Stewart will finally share the screen in the upcoming HBO series Lanterns, which pairs them as partners in a murder investigation in America's heartland and is set to premiere in August.
John Stewart made his debut in Green Lantern #87, published in December 1971, created by writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams. He was introduced as a bold, outspoken architect from Detroit, chosen by the Guardians of the Universe as Hal Jordan's backup after Guy Gardner, the previous backup, was injured.
From the very first pages, the two did not get along. Jordan had doubts about Stewart's rebellious streak and disregard for authority. Stewart had little patience for Jordan's by-the-book, old-guard attitude. The friction and differences between them made their dynamic all the more interesting.
Crucially, despite sharing the same title and legacy, Hal and John have never crossed paths in live-action. Every prior adaptation chose one over the other. Ryan Reynolds played Hal Jordan in Warner Bros.' 2011 film Green Lantern, a critically panned effort that left the character dormant on screen for over a decade.
John Stewart, despite becoming the definitive Green Lantern for an entire generation through Bruce Timm's acclaimed Justice League animated series in the early 2000s, never received his own live-action showcase.
Zack Snyder tried to bring him into the DC Extended Universe, but that did not materialize. The two have yet to team up, but Lanterns changes that, which is exciting, given what it could also mean for the broader DCU.
Why Is John Stewart and Hal Jordan’s Lantern Team-up Exciting?
John Stewart and Hal Jordan share a dynamic that makes Lanterns intriguing. Kyle Chandler plays Hal as a veteran on borrowed time, past his prime but not past his convictions. Aaron Pierre plays John as a former Marine still learning what kind of soldier the Corps actually needs him to be.
The first trailer for the show gives us a glimpse of how complicated their relationship is. In one scene, Hal drives a car off a cliff without flinching and jumps out, leaving John to save himself mid-fall. The move seems harsh, but it's a part of Hal's tough-love approach to mentorship. John plays it cool, casually acknowledging that Hal could have killed him, a depiction of two very different people.
What makes things more interesting is where this partnership is headed. These two cosmic cops are not investigating an alien incursion or a Corps-wide threat. Their case is a murder in rural Nebraska, the kind of crime that belongs to detectives, not intergalactic enforcers. The groundedness of this shows makes Hal and John's relationship even more intimate. It's basically just two men at odds, trying to figure out what actually happened in a small American town. The setting strips the mythology down to its bones, and what is left is the relationship.
Waiting in the background is Sinestro, another inclusion that will test Hal and John's partnership. Ulrich Thomsen plays the rogue former Lantern who was once Hal's mentor, a man who understood the Corps' power better than almost anyone and chose a different path. For Hal, confronting Sinestro is a reckoning with his own past. For John, who is still working out what the ring stands for, Sinestro will be a threat like nothing he's faced before. It'll be interesting to see how the Green Lantern rings come to play and how the show handles their powers, given it's a grounded take. Whatever the case, it's nice to see Hal and John finally pair up on screen.
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.
