As part of a recent interview, Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy revealed how John Stewart and Hal Jordan's powers will differ in the DCU. After the now-defunct DCEU failed to bring a single Green Lantern to the screen, James Gunn's DCU will have several, including a pair played by Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler, set to debut on HBO in 2026.
Speaking for a profile of Pierre in Men's Health, Mundy mentioned how the actor's Green Lantern light construct powers will come to be in Lanterns and how they differ from those of Chandler's Hal Jordan. Pierre's John Stewart will have his powers "based in creativity," while Hal "just wants to hit everything with a big, green fist:"
"One thing we attacked from the beginning was that the Green Lantern powers, a lot of it is based in creativity. To manifest things from the Lantern rings, you've got to manifest something from your brain—but also kind of from your soul. What does that look like? What does it feel like? I imagine it's not much different than being a sculptor or a painter. And Aaron had to be able to sell that John could have that ability. And that's what he did. He understood that John would appreciate that aspect of their powers. We always joked that Hal just wants to hit everything with a big, green fist."
This illustrates the distinct differences between Chandler and Pierre's characters in the upcoming TV show. Chandler's older, more seasoned Hal seems to be focused on force and getting the job done through sheer force. This is quite different from Pierre's John, who uses his soul and creativity to find a solution to any problems that may arise.
The unique pairing of these two strategies is just one small sliver of the alchemy that will make up Lanterns' buddy cop-esque relationship between its two leading heroes.
It also showcases yet again what was first introduced by way of Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner in Superman, where each of the DCU Green Lanterns will have their own unique approach to handling their Green Lantern powers.
Lanterns is set to arrive on HBO Max sometime in 2026. No specific release has been shared as of yet, but there has been an indication that it could kick off sometime before the beginning of March. The new series from Mundy and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof follows a pair of Earth-based Green Lanterns as they investigate a series of cosmic crimes originating in the American heartland.
Lanterns Gets Green Lantern, Unlike Anything Before It
There have been plenty of on-screen iterations of Green Lantern on screen over the years, but none seem to understand the heart of the character quite like Lanterns is shaping up to. Chris Mundy and the DCU seem to be bringing authentic versions of these characters to live-action, recreated as faithfully as possible from their comic book counterparts.
In fact, elsewhere in the same Men's Health interview, Mundy commented on exactly that. He said, "Our characters are true to the comics, but we're putting them in a new story," teasing just how 'pulled from the pages' heroes like Hal Jordan and John Stewart will be in the new HBO show.
In the comics, Hal Jordan is very much a 'do it by the book' sort of hero. Being the classic Green Lantern, he comes from a time when everything was very black or white, good or evil, almost operating like a super-powered crime-fighting servobot.
Whereas, John Stewart adds a level of humanity to the star-faring world of the Green Lantern Corps, seeing those shades of gray and injecting his personality into things, including how he weilds his construct-manifesting powerset.
It will be a fun experience for longtime DC fans to see these two characters bouncing off each other on-screen in live-action, adding to the ever-growing mosaic that is the DCU.
