The 2026 Green Lantern TV show, Lanterns, is the next live-action series in the first chapter of James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe and the franchise's first proper deep dive into the Green Lantern Corps. The HBO series stars Kyle Chandler as veteran Lantern Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as rookie recruit John Stewart, with the pair pulled into a murder investigation in small-town Nebraska.
Lanterns comes from showrunner Chris Mundy alongside co-creators Damon Lindelof and Tom King, and it arrives at a time when DC Studios is steadily building out its small-screen slate beyond Peacemaker and Creature Commandos.
Now that the first Lanterns trailer has dropped and the show is confirmed for an August 2026 premiere on HBO and HBO Max, fans have a much clearer picture of what the series actually looks like. And several of those confirmed elements have never appeared in any live-action DC television show before, setting Lanterns apart from any DC TV project that has aired in the past 70-plus years.
The Lanterns trailer had a lot of positive takeaways as well as some not-so-positive ones; the first look at the Green Lantern suit being an example. But one thing is for sure, Lanterns looks very different, a unique take on the space-faring heroes from DC Comics.
Lanterns Contains Elements Never Seen in a DC Show
Two Co-Lead Superheroes
Lanterns will be a two-hander. Chandler's Hal Jordan and Pierre's John Stewart are the two main Lanterns leading the 2026 Green Lanterns series, with Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner and Ulrich Thomsen's Sinestro filling out supporting roles rather than sharing equal billing.
This format is surprisingly new to DC. Going back to 1952's Adventures of Superman, every live-action DC series with a superhero ensemble in its title has featured at least three lead heroes. Birds of Prey ran with Huntress, Batgirl, and Black Canary. Titans kicked off with Robin, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy. Doom Patrol and DC's Legends of Tomorrow worked with even bigger rosters. Duos like Lois and Clark don't count, since only one half of those teams is an actual superhero.
There is also the matter of who these two leads are. John Stewart has never headlined a live-action DC TV series in his 55 years as a comic book character, and the closest he has come to live-action at all was when Wayne T. Carr was cast in Zack Snyder's Justice League but didn’t make the film's final cut. Hal Jordan has fared a little better thanks to Ryan Reynolds' 2011 Green Lantern movie and a one-off 1979 NBC special, but he has never anchored a TV series of his own, either. Lanterns is the first time both characters carry a show together, and it's set to be a buddy-cop dynamic.
A Neo-Western Tone
The other thing the trailer made very clear is the tone. Lanterns trades the Green Lantern Corps' usual cosmic setting for dirt roads, cattle country, and a small-town murder case set in the Nebraska heartland. Garret Dillahunt plays William Macon, a modern-day cowboy at the centre of the mystery, and the early footage leans heavily on dusty, brown-tinged imagery, pickup trucks, horses, and wide rural landscapes.
James Gunn has openly described the series as a True Detective-type story in the DCU, and Mundy carries this DNA over from his work on True Detective: Night Country.
No live-action DC TV show has leaned into this neo-western tone before. Past DC series have mostly focused on big cities like Gotham or Metropolis, or intergalactic worlds like Krypton. Even Smallville, which was set in rural Kansas, played as a teen drama rather than a Western. Lanterns will be the first proper neo-western DC TV show
Sinestro in Live-Action Television
Thaal Sinestro, Hal Jordan's former mentor and the eventual leader of the Yellow Lantern Corps, is one of the most important villains in DC Comics. Danish actor Ulrich Thomsen has been cast in the role for Lanterns, with the character described as a charming but ruthless figure tied to Hal's past.
Sinestro has never appeared in a major live-action DC TV series. His most notable previous live-action outing was Mark Strong's portrayal in the 2011 Green Lantern film, where he was set up as a future antagonist before that universe collapsed. Every other appearance, from Justice League to Green Lantern: The Animated Series, has been animated.
Bringing Sinestro into a TV series, with all of his comic book mythology intact, is a first for the character and a meaningful upgrade in scope for a DCU TV show. How deep Lanterns ventures into the Yellow Lantern Corps, or if they would at all, remains to be seen, but Thomsen bringing the character to life on the small screen is historic.
The Red Lanterns
Another element fans are watching closely is the rumored arrival of the Red Lanterns. Paul Ben-Victor is officially cast in Lanterns as Antaan, an alien described as a truth-seeker driven by hatred for the law and a need to avenge his people. This description set off speculation that Antaan is actually a placeholder name for Atrocitus, the founder of the Red Lantern Corps in the comics.
The case for Atrocitus is strong. His comic book backstory, a survivor whose family was wiped out by the Manhunters and who turns his grief into pure rage, lines up almost exactly with Antaan's character description. Co-star Garret Dillahunt also fuelled the rumour late last year by reposting fan art that paired Ben-Victor's name with Atrocitus and his own with Black Hand.
If Atrocitus and the Red Lanterns are part of Lanterns, that would be another first. The Red Lantern Corps has never been adapted into live-action in any form, on television or in film. A whole rage-fuelled splinter group of Lanterns showing up in the DCU would expand the emotional spectrum mythology in a way no DC show has even attempted, and it would set the table for the Yellow, Orange, or Blue Lanterns down the line.
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.
