DC Studios' Lanterns changed the narrative trajectory of a key DCU villain, setting the stage for an important future for the character. Lanterns introduced a plethora of new characters in James Gunn's DC reboot, officially showcasing Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre's John Stewart. While the show delivered a major bombshell by killing off Hal Jordan in its debut episode, it also featured other elements that expanded the lore behind the Green Lanterns, such as the arrival of Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen), but at an unexpected point in his life. Lanterns Episode 2 pulled back the curtain on what happened to Sinestro. As it turned out, he staged a coup, killed a Guardian of the Universe, and Hal was the one who brought him down. Sinestro ended up in an off-world prison, but Hal still visited him for answers about the Manhunters.
DC's Lanterns confirmed the reversal of Sinestro's locked-up fate in Episode 6 on HBO Max, completely removing the earlier picture of the DCU villain serving jail time in an off-world prison. Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner told John in Episode 6 that someone broke Sinestro out of "Spacekaban," the prison Hal visited early in the season.
Lanterns Episode 7's ending showed the true fate of Sinestro, revealing that he escaped to Antaan's dead homeworld, on an island where a tower is pumping the same fear gas that destroyed Antaan's people into the atmosphere. The finale confirmed that Noah Macon (the last remaining Manhunter on Earth) broke him out in exchange for a Lantern. He wanted a lantern so he could use it if he ever got a power ring, as insurance against the Guardians.
Given that Sinestro is the only person the series says has ever killed a Guardian, this explains why Noah went to him and broke him out. Sinestro managed to successfully forge a new lantern from the planet's residual fear, with DC Studios officially labeling it as the "Dark Lantern." This lantern is an obvious tease of what's to come, the first on-screen signal of the potential arrival of the Yellow Light of Fear and the Sinestro Corps.
The finale also revealed that Hal Jordan is truly dead, but there's a catch. Sinestro tried to bargain with John Stewart and the Halogram that, with the ring, he could pull Hal out of John's head and bring him back. However, the Halogram refused. Sinestro's line about reviving Hal is seen by many as a door the show deliberately leaves open, potentially as a story thread to be explored in Season 2.
Lanterns' ending left Sinestro alone in Antaan's homeworld with no means of transportation to escape. Still, he had the tools necessary to forge a new lantern completely imbued with fear, which could lay the groundwork for his transition into becoming the DCU's first Yellow Lantern.
What's Next for Sinestro in the DCU After Lanterns Season 1
Sinestro's likely next step in the DCU after Lanterns is finishing the job Noah hired him to do and making a ring for himself. In DC Comics, Thaal Sinestro is the Green Lantern who decided fear keeps order better than will, and he is later stripped of his ring and comes back with a yellow one built around the one color the green rings cannot touch.
It's worth noting that Lanterns has not yet given Sinestro the Sinestro Corps. Instead, it has given him the raw material, the knowledge, and the reason to serve as his launchpad to deliver and build his greatest weapon against the Green Lantern Corps (and other DCU heroes).
If he is successful in forging a yellow lantern, this can be his easy access to escape and the start of a new villainous era for the Sinestro Corps. Once he also manages to revive Hal Jordan, it spells trouble for John Stewart and Guy Gardner due to Hal's longstanding comic history with Parallax. A version of Hal rebuilt through a fear lantern is as useful to Sinestro as a partner, setting a dark turn for the once well-liked hero.
Many fans also claimed that the DCU is heading toward a Legion of Doom team-up down the line, and this theory makes sense. The DCU already introduced characters who are part of that lineup, such as Lex Luthor, Gorilla Grodd, Circe, Brainiac, and now, Sinestro. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn already said that Lanterns is connected to Peacemaker's Salvation storyine, and this location could be where the seeds of this team could be planted. The idea of stranding all of these villains in one place forces an alliance that could carry over into the mainline DCU when it's all said and done.
