Lanterns Stars Break Silence on That Devastating Death
Inside HBO’s "Lanterns": Two Generations of Green Lanterns, One Mysterious Murder, and a Story Told Backwards
TL;DR: HBO’s new Lanterns series kicks off with a dead superhero, a time-jumping mystery, and two actors—one a TV veteran, the other a rising star—navigating the pressure of bringing iconic comic characters to life for the first time.
What Is "Lanterns" Anyway?
Think of Lanterns as True Detective meets Green Lantern. Instead of pure space battles, you get a grounded, gritty murder mystery set in small-town Nebraska—with magic rings and aliens lurking in the background.
The hook: The very first episode ends with a flash-forward to 2026, where Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) is found dead on a high school football field. The rest of the season? Figuring out how he got there.
A Story Told in Three Timelines (Like 3D Chess)
The show doesn’t play fair with time. It juggles three different eras at once:
| Timeline | Year | What’s Happening |
|---|---|---|
| Childhood Flashbacks | Past | Young John Stewart’s traumatic upbringing (applesauce trauma included—yes, really) |
| Main Story | 2016 | Hal Jordan mentors rookie John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) on their first case together |
| Future Mystery | 2026 | Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) and older John investigate Hal’s murder |
Important Callout: This structure mirrors Bloodline (the Netflix thriller Kyle Chandler starred in), where a death in the premiere gets explained slowly over the season. Showrunner Chris Mundy loves this format.
Meet the Two Halves of the Green Lantern Legacy
Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan — The Reluctant Space Cop at 60
- Known for: Friday Night Lights, Bloodline, Mayor of Kingstown
- First superhero role ever — at age 60
- Based on: Chuck Yeager (the first pilot to break the sound barrier), specifically Sam Shepard’s portrayal in The Right Stuff
- Fun fact: Sam Shepard played Chandler’s dad on Bloodline. Coincidence? Maybe. Cool? Definitely.
Chandler on fan pressure:
"I don’t have social media. I don’t read websites. They can call me what they want and I won’t know. I realized I can’t please anyone, so I have to do it myself. Damn the torpedoes, let’s see what happens."
Aaron Pierre as John Stewart — The First Live-Action John Stewart Ever
- Known for: Rebel Ridge, The Underground Railroad, stage work (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at London’s Old Vic)
- Auditioned while Rebel Ridge reviews were blowing up
- Terrified — but in a good way: "I have a habit of intentionally seeking out things that unnerve me. That’s where evolution and growth are."
- The challenge: Playing a man who looks calm as an ocean breeze on the outside, but has a tornado raging inside from childhood trauma
The "Block-Shooting" Nightmare (Explained Simply)
What is block-shooting?
Instead of filming Episode 1, then Episode 2, then Episode 3… the crew films all scenes at one location at once — even if they’re from different episodes. Saves money. Destroys actors’ brains.
Why it was extra hard here:
- Scripts for later episodes didn’t exist yet when filming started
- Actors had to perform scenes without knowing the full story
- Chandler calls it "3D chess" — setting traps for future reveals, playing against the material
Showrunner Chris Mundy: "Kyle never mentioned Mayor of Kingstown or any concern. [Hal’s death] was baked in from the beginning. There’s a real freedom in that because we were all on the same page."
A Traveling Circus That Became a Family
- 85–90% shot on location (not soundstages)
- Cast and crew became a "traveling company" — tight-knit, like a theater troupe
- Pierre: "There is a town behind us. We wouldn’t have achieved this without them, not even close."
- Chandler: "What he says is so true."
Will There Be a Season 2?
Short answer: Writers are already working on it (provisionally), but no official green light yet.
Long answer: TV’s weird right now. Shows get renewed, then un-renewed. Both actors are at peace either way:
Pierre: "Whatever happens will happen. Whatever is meant to be will be. We poured so much into this… we are just all so very proud of it."
Chandler (joking): "I gave them my first two versions of scripts one and two, along with a packet of cash."
Summary: Why This Matters
- Fresh take on superhero TV — Less CGI spectacle, more character-driven mystery
- Two powerhouse performances — Chandler’s grizzled wisdom + Pierre’s quiet intensity
- Non-linear storytelling done right — Trust the process; the payoff is the journey
- First live-action John Stewart — Historic casting handled with gravity and care
- A production that felt like family — Rare in the "superhero industrial complex"
FAQ: Your Burning Questions, Answered
Q: Do I need to know Green Lantern comics to watch this?
A: Nope. The show treats the lore as background texture, not homework. If you know it, cool Easter eggs. If not, you’ll learn what you need along the way.
Q: Is Hal Jordan really dead, or is this a comic book fake-out?
A: The show says he’s dead in 2026. But this is a genre where death is… flexible. The mystery is how and why, not if.
Q: Why set it in 2016 and 2026 instead of "now"?
A: It locks the story in a specific era (pre-COVID, pre-a lot of things) and gives the future timeline a concrete target. Plus, 10-year gaps make for juicy character evolution.
Q: What’s the deal with the applesauce trauma?
A: You’ll have to watch. But Pierre says it’s central to understanding John’s "calm outside, tornado inside" psychology. No spoilers here!
Q: Is this connected to James Gunn’s new DC Universe movies?
A: Yes! Pierre already filmed Man of Tomorrow (Gunn’s Superman movie) as John Stewart. Lanterns is part of the same shared universe — think of it like the Marvel Netflix shows were to the MCU.
Final Thought: Lanterns isn’t just a superhero show. It’s a father-son story, a murder mystery, a trauma study, and a buddy-cop drama — all wrapped in a green glow. Whether it gets one season or seven, the pilot proves something rare: the people making it actually care.
New episodes air Sundays on HBO/Max through October 4.