DC has officially revealed the release date of its upcoming Lanterns TV show, starring Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. Damon Lindelof’s DCU series has already proved pretty controversial, with the first Lanterns trailer showing a much more grounded story than many viewers anticipated. Along the way, a theory is building that there’s only one Power Ring in play, and that the series is an unwilling “changing of the guard” story between Hal and John.
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That theory has become a lot more likely after James Gunn took to social media to confirm Lanterns will stream on HBO Max in August. He also revealed the show’s ominous tagline: “Only one can wear the ring.”
Elements of the Green Lantern fanbase have already been vocal in their disapproval over the tone, style, and even the concept of what appears to be a more Earthbound story than the kind of cosmic adventure associated with the comics. Now, attention is focusing on the prospect Hal Jordan won’t be part of the DCU for long.
Lanterns’ Plot is Still Largely a Mystery
The Lanterns trailer certainly supports the theory, establishing a strange rivalry between Hal and Jordan. According to this theory, the two are competing for the role of Earth’s Green Lantern, with Hal on the verge of retirement (perhaps because his Power Ring has been damaged, given we’ve seen it and it appears to be cracked). From an in-universe perspective, the main objection is that we’ve already seen the DCU’s Guy Gardner in Superman.
Many fans are irritated at the prospect of not seeing much Hal Jordan, given the character was done such a disservice in 2011’s Green Lantern movie. Others are pointing to the fact the show’s very title is a plural, not a singular.
To be fair, there’s arguable streamlining of Green Lantern lore here. Traditionally, a Green Lantern is assigned to protect every different sector of space. It’s always seemed rather odd that most Green Lanterns operate solo, with only one member of their race bearing the ring, while multiple humans wield Power Rings at the same time. The comics have attempted to explain this away by acknowledging reforms in the Green Lantern rules, but even these haven’t been implemented consistently.
If DC is indeed doubling down on the idea of only one Green Lantern being assigned to a sector at a time, there’s just one possible explanation: that Lanterns is also set earlier in the timeline. This would mean there was a progression: Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and then subsequently Guy Gardner. Thematically, this would establish a flow from cowboy, to cop, to corporation hireling. It would be an interesting and novel approach, but it would seem strange to introduce not one but two iconic and intriguing Green Lanterns in the past, meaning they weren’t a factor in the DCU’s future.
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