It’s an exciting time to be a DC fan, especially a Green Lantern fan. This week, just two months after giving fans a taste of what was coming with first footage as part of their 2026 preview, HBO delivered the first official trailer for Lanterns. The trailer offered up the best look yet at an older Green Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and younger recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), introducing fans to the dynamic between the space cop in training and the seasoned veteran. The trailer also left fans with a lot of questions as well, about just how the series will incorporate the noted Green Lantern powers and the use of Power Rings, but it also seemed to support one of the biggest theories fans have had about Hal Jordan and just where the series may be going.
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One of the biggest theories fans have had about Lanterns is that the series will see a changing of the guard, as it were, when it comes to who is wearing the Power Ring and defending Earth. Specifically, the theory is that Hal might end up dying, causing the student to become the teacher and seeing John step into the role as the main Green Lantern. While the freshly released trailer has only given us the smallest hint of what we can expect with the series, the teacher-student tension between John and Hal, as well as Hal saying, “This is my job, and as long as I’m alive, that ain’t changing,” certainly seems to suggest that change could, indeed be coming.
Lanterns Could Be Taking a Page From a Major Comics Storyline
If we are headed towards a twist with Lanterns where Hal dies and that event pushes John into a larger role, it would be something that has its roots in Green Lantern comics. One of the most iconic Green Lantern storylines from DC Comics happens to be 1994’s “Emerald Twilight”. That story saw some major changes for the Green Lanterns, specifically Hal. Hal’s hometown of Coast City was bombed to destruction, something that devastated Hal when he returned to the city and could hear the voices of the dead crying out in his mind. He defeats Mongul (who was responsible for things) but it’s not enough. Hal eventually gives into the Parallax entity and goes on a rampage that leads to many deaths, including Guardians and Lanterns alike. It’s a path that ultimately leads to Hal’s death and another lantern stepping up in his stead.
While in comics, the Lantern that steps up after Hal’s corruption and death is Kyle Rayner, it feels from what we’ve seen in the Lanterns trailer that John Stewart is more being set up for that role. Of course, as is the case with any DC project, while “Emerald Twilight” is a possible story adaptation that the HBO series could be leaning into, it’s not the only one — it just happens to be one that would work with the idea of a changing of the guard and potentially set the stage for an even bigger storyline. It’s also been theorized that Lanterns could be helping the DCU to set up for a major crossover by way of one of the biggest crossover events in comics — “Blackest Night”. The short version there is that a War of Light between different Lantern Corps leads to black rings being unleashed on the universe with heroes and villains being reanimated as zombie soldiers. The death of Hal Jordan would certainly make for an interesting conflict for John should Hal be brought back as a zombie Black Lantern.
At this point, nothing has been confirmed about where Lanterns will go with its story. We know that this first trailer is just the tip of the iceberg as we are expecting to see an appearance by Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner in a minor role at some point and we certainly have some questions about that — Hal also notes in the trailer that he’s the only human Green Lantern as the rest are aliens. We will have to see how it all plays out. But right now, it feels pretty likely that fans should brace them for a twist with Hal Jordan, and John Stewart may get his chance to wear the ring sooner than we think.
Lanterns debuts on HBO Max later in 2026.
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