One of the best moments of San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026 was all thanks to HBO Max's Lanterns and its Lanterns Training Headquarters offsite. Lanterns is a new live-action DCU series premiering August 16 on HBO Max, which follows Aaron Pierre's John Stewart as he trains to become a Green Lantern under a veteran Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler. The two find themselves investigating the small town of Rushville, which may house a hidden cosmic threat.
The Lanterns Training Headquarters offsite at SDCC promised attendees the chance to be trained to become part of the Green Lantern Corps themselves and join in on their fight against fear, and it certainly made good on it. The offsite was the perfect opportunity to prepare for the upcoming release of the DCU series.
Training To Become a Real Green Lantern
We Took the Journey That John Stewart Will In Lanterns Season 1
After being sorted into four teams, attendees were seated in a large booth, with TVs around us playing clips from Lanterns while asking us, "Are you afraid?" Then, four instructors came out, humans who claimed to be Guardians from Oa in disguise. Each took their group back into the experience while softly chiding their recruits.
The first section saw us sneaking into Rushville, a town led by the Macon family, to investigate a mysterious compound. As a door opened, we were ushered into a mini-horror maze, as we crouched and worked our way through, avoiding spotlights.
As we finally made it through the barn, we burst out the doors, and a Green Lantern held back a dangerous man (it was unclear what the conflict was). Upon exit, we were greeted by a large courtyard, meant to mimic a central area in Rushville. We were immediately interrogated by the local sheriff, who wanted to know why we were all there.
Then came the time to practice our aiming at a firing range tucked in the town's corner. This was, admittedly, a strange choice of activity to become a Green Lantern, but it was fun nonetheless. You felt oddly capable of nailing those targets with the deadly Nerf guns.
It's here I should note that there seemed to be alternate activities that trainees could take part in. One of those I saw mentioned and subsequently saw on other social media is one where a single person is chosen to try to fly with their ring. If they weren't able to do so when the floor fell out below them, they dropped into a bit of comfy foam.
From those activities, we were instructed to sneak into the sheriff's office (though, clearly, stealth is now the strong suit of our recruiters) to find a password as part of our journey to learn why and how the local sheriff is involved in the strange happenings in Rushville. What followed was essentially a mini escape room, with us having to problem-solve as a group to get the intel we needed.
After successfully finding the password, all four groups huddled in the courtyard to listen to a Guardian, disguised as a human, of course, who congratulated us all on proving we have incredible willpower that can overcome any fear.
We were all presented with a tray of Green Lantern rings of various sizes to solidify our commitment to the green light of willpower. Then came the best moment of SDCC 2026.
After placing our newly chosen Green Lantern rings on our fingers, we all held up our fists and recited the Green Lantern's oath together as a group: "In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might beware my power... Green Lantern's light!" Needless to say, if you're a fan of the character and lore, you might have lost it.
Having become members of the Green Lantern Corps, all of us were ushered into the Lanterns Lounge, where Heineken beer was waiting for us. Additionally, there was the opportunity to buy exclusive Lanterns merchandise and a digital photo op for attendees to showcase themselves wielding their rings.
Check out more SDCC coverage from The Direct, including a sneak peek at the dawn of a new age of rhythm video games.
