While the initial description calls to mind another interwoven superhero series, Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Safran compares the story to a much darker — and closer to home — title. “It is more of a ‘True Detective’-type mystery with our two Lanterns,” the executive confirms, referencing the bleak neo-noir HBO series that is returning for a fourth season. While I can’t imagine which of the two Lanterns would be equivalent to wild-eyed nihilist Rust Cohle and which would be temperamental jerk Marty Hart, I do love that DC is getting back to its roots in a big way. It is called Detective Comics, after all.
Although Hal Jordan has been seen on screen, portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in the 2011 film “Green Lantern” and by Howard Murphy in 1979’s “Legend of the Superheroes,” John Stewart has yet to make his live-action debut. The closest fans have come to seeing the Black superhero on screen in live-action comes via “Arrow,” which only confirmed that the character of John Diggle (David Ramsey) was a version of Green Lantern in the series finale. Zack Snyder also had plans for a Green Lantern character who ultimately didn’t make the cut in his “Justice League” movie.
At the time, it was widely speculated that WB chose not to show Green Lantern in “Justice League” because the character was already set for his own series, an HBO Max show that had Arrowverse captain Greg Berlanti on board as a producer. As of October 2022, reports indicated that the show was still in the works but had been totally reworked. It’s unclear how much DNA “Lanterns” will share with past versions of the Green Lantern story if any.
HBO Max’s “Lanterns” does not yet have a set release date.