With only a few weeks until the premiere of Lanterns, the powers that be at DC Studios have decided to—finally!—reveal a little more about what goes down in the upcoming HBO Max series. The new trailer has a few bits recycled from previous trailers, but for the most part it pulls the curtain way, way back. Manhunters! Sinestro! Adorable uses of Green Lantern powers! And a much bigger sense of the scale and threat of this extremely appealing series! I feel quite confident in saying that Lanterns has a lot going for it, even if you have not, historically, cared much about Green Lanterns.
The basic shape of Lanterns has been clear for a while: Elder Lantern Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) is, very reluctantly, training upstart Lantern John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), who is chafing a bit at having to work under grumpy old Hal. They go to a small town to investigate some suspicious murders, and they have to work with skeptical cop Kelly Macdonald.
What has only now become clear is that this is a (Martian) Manhunter situation. Manhunters are described in the trailer as “the most dangerous beings to ever exist in the galaxy,” and we see at least one, from behind, as he (?) grows into his actual shape. Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) turns up to tell Hal, “He’s gonna send an army to put you down,” though it is not at all clear who “he” is, in this sentence. And Hal goes to visit his old mentor-turned-villain, Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen), who somehow knows about Hal’s new mentee. Who is not really Hal’s understudy. “He’s my replacement,” a grumpy Hal admits.
Attendees at San Diego Comic Con got to see a lot more than the trailer, as several clips were shown to the Hall H crowd. io9 has a good rundown, should you want the spoilers, and The Direct added a key detail about Laura Linney’s mysterious role: She’s playing one of the Guardians of the Universe, the ancient founders of the Green Lantern Corps.
All of these details are catnip for comics fans, but the trailer is also just plain good, even if you aren’t steeped in the lore. Chandler and Pierre play beautifully off each other, surly and resentful and reluctantly admiring in turn, and there are some fun bits and some dramatic bits involving their magic ring powers (they had me with the bottle opener). Chandler reciting the Green Lantern code is enough to give even the most jaded-on-comic-book-adaptations viewer goosebumps. (Ask me how I know.)
Lanterns, which comes from showrunner Chris Mundy (True Detective, Ozark), also stars Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, and Jason Ritter. It premieres August 16 on HBO Max.
