Lanterns: key information
- Releasing in mid-August
- Trailers revealed in March and May
- Main cast confirmed
- Other actors rumored to appear
- Story synopsis unveiled
- Season 2 already tentatively in development
- Unclear how it'll impact the overarching narrative of DCU Chapter One
Lanterns' launch isn't too far away now. Indeed, the next DC Universe (DCU) TV series will make its bow in mid-August, so — at the time of this guide's latest update — there's only one month to go until it's here.
Now is as good a time as any, then, to find out more about the upcoming DCU program. Below, I've rounded up the biggest and latest information on the Green Lantern show, including its official release date, confirmed cast, trailer, plot details, and so much more. Make sure you're wearing your Power Ring, then, and let's shine a light on one of this year's most anticipated TV projects.
Lanterns release date
Beware my power, Green Lantern's light.#Lanterns premieres August 16 on HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/0QCrZqt4Y2April 30, 2026
It took a while to tell us but, in late April, HBO finally confirmed Lanterns' release date: Sunday, August 16 in North and South America, and Monday, August 17 everywhere else.
As for where you'll be able to watch it, the vast majority of viewers can catch it on HBO Max, aka one of the best streaming services, where it's available. US audiences will also have the chance to watch it via linear TV network HBO. Meanwhile, UK users will soon find it on Sky Atlantic and Now TV, Canadians should load up Crave, and those of you in India will have to sign into JioHotstar.
Lanterns trailer
Revealed in mid-March, this DCU Chapter One TV series' first trailer ended up posing seven big questions about Lanterns' characters and plot.
Two months later, Lanterns' official trailer showed off even more of the comic book show, but did little to answer any of the aforementioned questions. Check it out below if you haven't yet:
Lanterns cast: confirmed and rumored
Potentially big spoilers immediately follow for Lanterns.
Here's the confirmed cast for the third DCU TV show so far:
- Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan
- Aaron Pierre as John Stewart
- Kelly Macdonald as Sheriff Kerry
- Ulrich Thomsen as Thaal Sinestro
- Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner
- Garret Dillahunt as TBC
- Poorna Jagannathan as TBC
- Laura Linney as TBC
- Jason Ritter as TBC
- J. Alphonse Nicholson as TBC
- Jasmine Cephas Jones as TBC
Of the above, Pierre and Chandler's involvement in Lanterns was confirmed in October 2024. They'll play fan-favorite Green Lanterns, with Pierre as John Stewart and Chandler as Hal Jordan. The pair will find themselves at loggerheads with each other and Macdonald's Kerry, the latter of whom is leading an investigation that Stewart and Jordan become embroiled in.
Meanwhile, Fillion's Gardner — another member of the intergalactic space cop agency known more famously as the Lantern Corps. — will appear in his third DCU project after 2025's Superman movie and Peacemaker season 2.
They might not be the only Green Lanterns who show up, either. During the DCU Chapter One line-up's full reveal in January 2023, Gunn said "we have a few other Lanterns peppered in there". The first trailer for Lanterns also namedropped another Green Lantern, so don't be surprised if other Power Ring-wielding individuals appear.
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Where Lanterns' primary antagonist is concerned, it's expected to be Sinestro. A former Green Lantern relieved of his duties for abusing his power, Sinestro has been a long-time foe of the Lantern Corps. Thomsen confirmed he'll play Sinestro via Instagram in late 2025.
Elsewhere, Jagannathan has reportedly been tapped to play Zoe (per Deadline), aka Stewart's love interest. Deadline has also indicated that Dillahunt was involved as a modern-day cowboy named William Macon, but Variety has since suggested that the role has gone to Ritter. It's unclear, then, who Dillahunt will play.
Furthermore, Deadline believes Nicholson will portray a younger version of Stewart's father. Deadline also claimed Cephas Jones will portray a younger iteration of Stewart's mother, which suggests we'll see flashbacks to John's childhood.
Lastly, Linney was announced as the latest addition to the cast in May. Like Dillahunt, her role is being kept firmly under wraps, so we'll have to wait for the show's debut to learn who she'll portray.
Lanterns story synopsis and speculation
Potential spoilers follow for Lanterns.
Here's Lanterns' official logline: "The series follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland."
With the Green Lantern TV show's release date fast approaching, we've started to learn even more about it via its talented creative team.
Described as a space cop version of True Detective by DC Studios co-chief James Gunn (per EW), its story will primarily take place in Iowa and Nebraska (via ScreenRant). It'll also feature dual timelines, co-creator Chris Mundy says (again, per EW), with its 2016 story threaded through the present-day narrative that occurs in 2026.
Chandler's Jordan is expected to be at the heart of the 2016 mystery-filled plot.
However, while Mundy teased that Lanterns is "as much of a buddy cop show as a superhero show" — one that'll give plenty of screentime to Chandler and Pierre — Gunn also CBS Mornings that Stewart is its main character. A Vanity Fair piece also states Jordan is eyeing retirement as a Green Lantern — you know, as long as a dark fate doesn't befall him in Lanterns — and, with Stewart unexpectedly picked to be his replacement by the Guardians of the Universe, aka the Lantern Corps' very founders, Jordan has no choice but to train the hot-headed new recruit.
As part of that Vanity Fair article, Mundy also revealed it won't be a wholly superhero affair. "It’s a series that explores who these guys are when they’re on the job and when they’re out of uniform", he revealed. So, we'll definitely see Jordan and Stewart's civilian lives alongside their superpowered responsibilities.
Like Peacemaker, this DCU entry won't be family-friendly, either.
Considering the whodunit at the center of its narrative, that's a given but, as Fillion told EW: "I've dropped more F-bombs in that project than I have in, I think, my entire career put together". Expect Lanterns to lean more into adult-only territory than what passes for a PG-13 TV show.
Viewers with little to no prior knowledge of Green Lantern mythology won't be left scratching their heads throughout the show's debut season (more on this shortly), either.
Speaking to comicbook.com, Mundy said: "We wanted it to be accessible for anyone who doesn’t know the canon but, at the same time, satisfying for people who know the lore in minute detail". Some audience members, then, can expect a crash course in all things Green Lantern very soon.
Will there be a second season of Lanterns?
Yes, I’m joining LANTERNS Season 2.
— @ifyoucantwell.bsky.social ( @ifyoucantwell.bsky.social.bsky.social ) 2026-07-09T13:44:44.835Z
Yes. As part of that March 2026 Vanity Fair piece I previously linked to, Mundy said: "Season one is designed to be its own, complete season of television that, hopefully, will become many seasons of television."
Since then, we've received confirmation that a second season is not only happening, but has added a new writer in the form of Chris Cantwell (Halt, Catch Fire, The Terror: Devil in Silver). The wheels are moving, then, on another installment.
How will Lanterns impact the rest of the DCU?
Right now, Lanterns' potential impact on the DCU is unclear. As Mundy mentioned above, it's currently being treated as a standalone story, with very few ties to Gunn and Safran's nascent cinematic franchise. Gardner's involvement in this project and Stewart's apparent supporting role in Man of Tomorrow, aka the follow-up to Superman, notwithstanding, it seems like that'll be the case, too.
Depending on how it ends, there might be scope for HBO's Green Lantern project to lead into other DCU movies and shows. Until it launches, though, nobody knows what role it may have in fleshing out this comic book-inspired universe.
For more DCU coverage, get the full lowdown on Clayface, find out what we know so far about Man of Tomorrow, and learn more about Creature Commandos season 2.
