Lanterns isn’t releasing until this August, but the next chapter in the DCU story is already getting people talking. While the first two trailers for the anticipated series did that to an extent, a new rumor regarding a major death in the show has sent that discourse into overdrive, and fans are reeling. If it happens, it will massively shake up the DCU’s Green Lantern Corps in a way no one expected when the series was first announced.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The rumor that has everyone buzzing seems to come from Reddit, and it states that the show is split into two timelines. Those timelines are 2016 and 2026, and while there are several differences between them, the biggest change is the fact that Hal Jordan is dead in the current timeline, as he evidently dies at the end of the first episode of the series. Obviously, this rumor has fans reeling from the implications of it if it’s true, and if that does happen, it will change the DCU’s Green Lantern Corps and what fans expected from it in massive ways.
If Hal Jordan Dies in Lanterns, It Sets Up Huge DC Events
This is still very much a rumor at this point, but it certainly is an interesting one. Having one of your lead characters die at the end of the first episode is a major surprise in itself, and is certainly an interesting one. The two timelines of it all do mean that even if Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan dies early, he can still be involved throughout the rest of the series, given that the past will be used to inform and contextualize the present.
The other main plot point seems to be that the Lanterns are looking for the Manhunters, and this feeds into other rumors that the 2016 timeline is the more grounded, true detective-style story, while the present is far more science fiction and superhero-styled, exploring the big sci-fi concepts that are such a major part of Green Lantern and the Corps in general.
If this happens, this would also set up one of the biggest Green Lantern stories ever, though it would do so in a different way from the comics. This could be a way to introduce Hal’s transformation into Parallax without the immense death toll that came with that transformation in the comics. Perhaps he is revived by the entity and returns to the fold as one of DC’s most powerful villains, or maybe he doesn’t die at all and is instead turned by something that happens over the course of the series. Either way, taking him off the board in some way means you can bring him back as an opposing force, and doing so means you can then have Hal vs John and the Corps in the next chapter of DC’s ongoing story.
That would likely lead to the full restoration of Hal as a Green Lantern down the line, though that doesn’t have to be the case either, as he did sacrifice himself rather heroically to defeat the Sun-Eater in the comics, and you could run with that if you wanted to give him a hero’s ending in the DCU.
Granted, this could all be moot, as he might not die at all. Still, with the wild journey that Jordan has gone on in the books, it’s not completely out of left field. Green Lantern Rebirth and subsequent stories have all dealt with elements of Hal’s redemption, and when you factor in that this version is an older Hal, it’s not an unthinkable connection to make. We’ll just have to wait and see which direction they go, but thankfully, we don’t have to wait much longer.
Lanterns hits HBO in August.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
