DC Studios’ James Gunn Shares Mysterious Green Lantern Tease

DC Studios’ new era is starting to come into view with Superman Legacy now in production, but Superman is just one part of a larger-scale plan. That overarching plan includes the still rather mysterious Green Lantern project known as Lanterns, and James Gunn just shared an equally mysterious tease for the project. Gunn shared an image of an unknown Lantern’s hand firing their power ring towards the sky. You can see that this has been a difficult battle as there are blood trails on the glove, but Gunn didn’t add a caption or description to the image, so there are still plenty of questions about what it means.

Going with the simplest explanation, it could just mean that the project is entering more active development. Legacy does feature Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner after all, and with Legacy now underway, the Lanterns project could be getting some additional attention behind the scenes. As someone who cannot wait to see this project become a reality, I’m just going to go the wish-fulfillment route and hope that’s the case.

While we don’t know much about Lanterns, we do know a few things. The HBO Max series will focus on Hal Jordan and John Stewart and is described as a cosmic True Detective story that involves an ancient horror on Earth. Casting isn’t known for Jordan or Stewart, though Gunn did previously confirm Fillion will be playing Guy Gardner.

That True Crime description is quite promising, as is the fact that it will feature Jordan and Stewart. In the comics, Green Lanterns are looked upon as the protectors of the universe, or space cops if you will. Each Lantern is responsible for a specific sector of the galaxy, and it just so happens that Earth, which is in sector 2814, has four Lanterns to call its own. Those are Jordan, Stewart, Gardner, and Kyle Rayner.

The fact that there are four Lanterns assigned to Earth has been recently explored in the comics, and it will be interesting to see what elements the show decides to play with, as there a number of ways they can go.

“We’re honored to be the stewards of these DC characters we’ve loved since we were children,” Gunn and Safran said in the initial DC Studios announcement. “We look forward to collaborating with the most talented writers, directors, and actors in the world to create an integrated, multilayered universe that still allows for the individual expression of the artists involved. Our commitment to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Harley Quinn, and the rest of the DC stable of characters is only equaled by our commitment to the wonder of human possibility these characters represent. We’re excited to invigorate the theatrical experience around the world as we tell some of the biggest, most beautiful, and grandest stories ever told.”

Are you excited for Lanterns? You can talk all things Green Lantern and DC with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!