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Draft:Lanterns (TV series)

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Lanterns
Genre
Based onCharacters from DC
ShowrunnerChris Mundy
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHBO
Related
DCU TV series

Lanterns is an upcoming American television series based on DC Comics featuring the Green Lantern characters Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television, it will be the third television series in the DC Universe (DCU). It features Jordan and Stewart investigating a mystery on Earth. Chris Mundy serves as showrunner.

Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre respectively star as Hal Jordan and John Stewart in the series, alongside Kelly Macdonald. Greg Berlanti began developing a Green Lantern television series by October 2019, with Seth Grahame-Smith and Marc Guggenheim soon joining as writers. The series was to focus on various Green Lanterns other than Jordan and Stewart. After James Gunn and Peter Safran became co-CEOs of DC Studios in October 2022, the series was redeveloped to focus on Jordan and Stewart. This was announced in January 2023, along with the series' detective story focus which was inspired by the series True Detective (2014–present). Mundy's involvement was confirmed in mid-2024, when the series was ordered by HBO. James Hawes was hired to direct the first two episodes that October, when Chandler and Pierre were cast. Filming is expected to take place in Atlanta, Georgia, from January to June 2025.

Lanterns will be released on HBO and will consist of eight episodes. It will be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.

Premise

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Green Lanterns are intergalactic heroes who wear rings that give them extraordinary powers. The series follows experienced Lantern Hal Jordan and new recruit John Stewart as they investigate a mystery on Earth.[1][2]

Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1TBAJames Hawes[3]Chris Mundy & Tom King & Damon Lindelof[4]TBA

Lanterns will consist of eight episodes, with Hawes also directing the second episode.[3]

Cast and characters

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Main

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Recurring

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  • Garret Dillahunt as William Macon: A modern cowboy who hides his "self-righteous, conspiracy-minded" personality behind a charming façade[8]
  • Poorna Jagannathan as Zoe: A woman who is "as composed and cunning [as] the influential men around her"[9]

Production

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Background

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Greg Berlanti, the producer of multiple DC Comics-based television series, announced that he was developing a series based on the Green Lantern characters for the streaming service HBO Max in October 2019. Berlanti had previously co-written the film Green Lantern (2011).[10] In January 2020, he said the series would span several decades and tell two stories about Green Lanterns on Earth as well as a story about the villainous character Sinestro in space.[11] The series was officially picked up for a 10-episode season by HBO Max that October. Marc Guggenheim, who also co-wrote the Green Lantern film, and Seth Grahame-Smith were revealed to be writing the series, with Grahame-Smith serving as showrunner.[12] The series could not make use of the main Green Lanterns from the comic books, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, because they were being reserved for DC Extended Universe (DCEU) films.[13] Instead, the series was set to explore other Green Lanterns from the comics, including Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, Alan Scott, Kilowog, and new Green Lanterns created for the series.[12]

In April 2021, the series was revealed to be primarily focusing on Scott, a secretly gay FBI agent in 1941 who becomes Earth's first Green Lantern; and Gardner, an "embodiment of 1980s hyper-patriotism", alongside the half-alien Bree Jarta in 1984. Finn Wittrock was cast as Gardner after Berlanti received permission from producer Ryan Murphy for the actor to prioritize Green Lantern over the planned second season of Murphy's Netflix series Ratched (2020). An actor was in negotiations to portray Scott. The series was said to be the most expensive in Berlanti's career, and was expected to begin filming later in 2021. Berlanti had been writing with Grahame-Smith and Guggenheim, who were all serving as executive producers alongside Geoff Johns, Sarah Schechter, David Madden, and David Katzenberg.[14] Pornsak Pichetshote, who previously served as an editor for DC's Vertigo Comics imprint and was an executive at DC Entertainment overseeing its television content, was later revealed to be part of the writers' room as well.[15] Jeremy Irvine was revealed to be in talks to portray Scott in May,[16] and was officially cast soon after.[17] Lee Toland Krieger was hired to direct the first two episodes at the end of the month.[18] In August 2021, Wittrock said filming would begin at the end of the year or in early 2022.[19]

In April 2022, Discovery, Inc. and Warner Bros.' parent company WarnerMedia merged to become Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), led by president and CEO David Zaslav. The new company was expected to restructure DC Entertainment and Zaslav began searching for an equivalent to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to lead the new subsidiary.[20] In June, Irvine said there was no scheduled start date for filming the series and the production was working on "getting all the stars to align".[21] A month later, the series was reaffirmed to be in development despite the cancellation of other HBO Max and DC projects by WBD.[22] In October 2022, Grahame-Smith was revealed to have left the series, which was being redeveloped to focus on John Stewart.[23] James Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as the co-chairs and co-CEOs of the newly formed DC Studios at the end of that month.[24] A week after starting their new roles, the pair had begun developing an eight-to-ten-year plan for a new DC Universe (DCU) that would be a "soft reboot" of the DCEU.[25][26][27]

Development

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Gunn said in December 2022 that Green Lantern characters would be an important part of the new DCU.[28] On January 31, he and Safran unveiled the first projects from their DCU slate, which begins with Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. The third television series in the slate was Lanterns, a new iteration of the long-in-development Green Lantern series. This version features the two best-known Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, and Safran said it would be an Earth-based detective story rather than the space opera that Berlanti had envisioned. He said the series would be "a huge HBO-quality event" in the style of the series True Detective (2014–present), and the mystery that Jordan and Stewart investigate leads into the main storyline for the DCU so it was an important project for Gunn and Safran.[1]

Damon Lindelof was consulting on the series as a producer by January 2024, when it was said to be a priority project for the streaming service Max, the successor to HBO Max.[29][30] The following month, Chris Mundy was reported to be serving as showrunner while Tom King, a member of the DC Studios writers' room, was also attached as a producer.[30] Gunn confirmed the involvement of Mundy, King, and Lindelof in May 2024.[4] The series received an eight-episode straight-to-series order from Max's corporate sibling channel HBO the next month, when Mundy was confirmed as showrunner and executive producer.[31] The move to HBO was made after WBD decided to shift many of its planned big-budget Max series based on their own intellectual property to be HBO originals instead; Lanterns would still stream on Max.[32] DC Studios was meeting with possible directors for the series' pilot by September, including Stephen Williams who worked with Lindelof on the DC Comics-based limited series Watchmen (2019).[33] In October, James Hawes was hired to direct the first two episodes of the series and to serve as an executive producer.[3]

Writing

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Mundy, King, and Lindelof had written the pilot script and series bible for Lanterns by the end of May 2024, when a full writers' room was being put together for the series. Justin Britt-Gibson, Breannah Gibson, and Vanessa Baden are also writers on the series.[4] Britt-Gibson previously worked with Lindelof on the script for an untitled Star Wars film.[34]

Casting

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In December 2022, Gunn ruled out the return of actor Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan from the Green Lantern film.[35] Nathan Fillion was cast as Guy Gardner for the DCU film Superman (2025) in July 2023,[36] and he was expected to co-star in the series by September 2024.[33] At that time, Josh Brolin was revealed to have been offered the role of Jordan at the end of August. The actor was looking for a new television role following the cancelation of his series Outer Range (2022–2024) and had previously played the DC Comics character Jonah Hex in the 2010 film of the same name. Jordan was expected to be the gruff, older partner similar to Danny Glover's Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon films. DC Studios was looking to cast a younger, "fresh-faced" Black actor as John Stewart, who was expected to be in his 20s.[33][37] Matthew McConaughey and Ewan McGregor were also in consideration for Jordan if a deal with Brolin could not be finalized.[38] Brolin passed on the role soon after his potential involvement was reported,[37] saying it "didn't work out",[39] and McConaughey was also not expected to be cast.[37]

Kyle Chandler was in negotiations to portray Jordan by the end of September,[40][41] while Aaron Pierre and Stephan James were in the mix to portray Stewart.[42] Gunn had almost cast Pierre as Adam Warlock in his Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023),[43] and the actor previously portrayed Dev-Em in the DC series Krypton (2018–19).[44] Damson Idris was also on the shortlist to portray Stewart before a scheduling conflict arose.[42] Screen tests with Pierre and James were held in early October with Chandler.[3][43] On October 9, Pierre was cast as Stewart and Chandler was confirmed to be cast as Jordan.[5][6] Kelly Macdonald was cast in the main role of Sherriff Kerry at the end of the month.[7][8] Garret Dillahunt and Poorna Jagannathan were cast in the major recurring roles of William Macon and Zoe, respectively, in November.[8][9]

Filming

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Principal photography is expected to take place in Atlanta, Georgia, from January to June 2025.[37]

Release

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Lanterns is scheduled to air on HBO and stream on Max,[32] and will consist of eight episodes.[31] Gunn said in November 2024 that he intended for the series to be released around the same time as the film Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which was scheduled for release in June 2026.[45] It will be part of the DCU's Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Vary, Adam B. (January 31, 2023). "New DC Universe Unveils First 10 Projects: Superman: Legacy in 2025, Batman & Robin Movie, Green Lantern Series, Wonder Woman Prequel and More". Variety. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  2. ^ White, Peter (June 25, 2024). "Green Lantern Series 'Lanterns' From Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof & Tom King Moves From Max To HBO With Series Order". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Kit, Borys (October 4, 2024). "'Lanterns' Sets 'Slow Horses' Helmer James Hawes to Direct First Block of Episodes (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Flook, Ray (May 25, 2024). "Lanterns: James Gunn Welcomes Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, Tom King". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on May 25, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (October 9, 2024). "'Lanterns': Kyle Chandler Set To Star As Hal Jordan In DC Series For HBO". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Kit, Borys; Couch, Aaron (October 9, 2024). "'Lanterns' Finds Its John Stewart with Aaron Pierre". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Kit, Borys (October 30, 2024). "'Lanterns': Kelly Macdonald Joins HBO, DC Studios' Superhero Crime Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 30, 2024. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c Andreeva, Nellie (November 1, 2024). "'Lanterns': Garret Dillahunt Joins DC Series For HBO". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 1, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (November 15, 2024). "'Lanterns': Poorna Jagannathan Joins DC Series For HBO". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 16, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  10. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (October 29, 2019). "Green Lantern TV Series Among Pair of Greg Berlanti DC Dramas Set at HBO Max". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  11. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 15, 2020). "Greg Berlanti Green Lantern HBO Max Series Details Teased At TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  12. ^ a b White, Peter (October 9, 2020). "Seth Grahame-Smith & Marc Guggenheim To Write Green Lantern TV Series For HBO Max". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  13. ^ Behbakht, Andy (October 16, 2020). "Every Green Lantern Confirmed For The HBO Max TV Show". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
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  15. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 3, 2023). "MRC, James Wan's Atomic Monster & 3 Arts In Deal To Develop Pornsak Pichetshote's Noir Graphic Novel The Good Asian Into Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
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  17. ^ Anderson, Jenna (May 25, 2021). "Green Lantern: Jeremy Irvine Confirms Alan Scott Casting for HBO Max Series". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  18. ^ Petski, Denise (May 27, 2021). "Lee Toland Krieger To Direct First Two Episodes Of Green Lantern HBO Max Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
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  20. ^ Lang, Brent; Donnelly, Matt (April 14, 2022). "Warner Bros. Discovery Exploring Overhaul of DC Entertainment (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  21. ^ Lapreziosa, Madeline (June 2, 2022). "Jeremy Irvine Interview: Benediction". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  22. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (August 9, 2022). "Green Lantern Series 'Very Much Alive' at HBO Max — Plus, a Status Report on the Streamer's Other DC Heroes". TVLine. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
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  24. ^ Kit, Borys; Couch, Aaron (October 25, 2022). "DC Shocker: James Gunn, Peter Safran to Lead Film, TV and Animation Division (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  25. ^ Couch, Aaron (November 10, 2022). "James Gunn, Peter Safran Are Mapping Out 'Eight- to 10-Year Plan' for DC". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  26. ^ Outlaw, Kofi (October 25, 2022). "Warner Bros. Confirms 'DC Universe' As Official Name of DCEU". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
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  28. ^ Brail, Nathaniel (December 10, 2022). "James Gunn Says Green Lantern Content Is Important". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  29. ^ Sneider, Jeff (January 29, 2024). "Exclusive: Derek Cianfrance to Direct 'Roofman' Movie About Prolific McDonald's Robber Who Lived in a Toys 'R Us". TheInSneider. Archived from the original on January 30, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  30. ^ a b "Production Weekly – Issue 1389 – Thursday, February 15, 2024 / 208 Listings – 45 Pages". Production Weekly. No. 1389. February 14, 2024. p. 22. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  31. ^ a b Porter, Rick (June 25, 2024). "Green Lantern Series Finally a Go at HBO". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  32. ^ a b Schneider, Michael (June 25, 2024). "'Harry Potter,' 'It' Prequel 'Welcome to Derry' and Other Warner Bros. Tentpole Series to Be Branded as HBO Originals Instead of Max (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  33. ^ a b c Sneider, Jeff (September 2, 2024). "'Lanterns': Josh Brolin Offered Role of Hal Jordan in HBO's Big-Budget Sci-Fi Series From DC Studios". The InSneider. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  34. ^ Kit, Borys (October 24, 2022). "A Secret Writers Room, a Rising Scribe and a Post-'Skywalker' Timeline: A Look Inside Damon Lindelof's 'Star Wars' Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  35. ^ Lund, Anthony (December 12, 2022). "James Gunn Addresses The Return of Ryan Reynolds as DCU's Green Lantern". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  36. ^ Breznican, Anthony (July 11, 2023). "Superman Legacy Cast Adds Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi and Nathan Fillion: Exclusive". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  37. ^ a b c d Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (September 10, 2024). "Josh Brolin Passes on HBO's Green Lantern TV Show (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  38. ^ Sneider, Jeff (September 3, 2024). "Hot Rumor: Is James Gunn Courting 'Queer' Director Luca Guadagnino for a Future DCU Project?". The InSneider. Archived from the original on September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  39. ^ Ridgely, Charlie (September 30, 2024). "Josh Brolin Confirms Those Hal Jordan Green Lantern Talks & Possible DC Future". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  40. ^ Kit, Borys; Porter, Rick (September 23, 2024). "Kyle Chandler to Star in HBO's 'Lanterns' Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 23, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  41. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 23, 2024). "Kyle Chandler In Talks To Star In 'Lanterns' DC Series For HBO". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 23, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  42. ^ a b Kit, Borys (September 27, 2024). "'Lanterns': Aaron Pierre, Stephan James in the Mix to Play John Stewart in DC Studios, HBO Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 27, 2024. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  43. ^ a b White, Abbey (October 19, 2024). "James Gunn Unveils Creature Commandos and Shares Updates on Superman, Supergirl and Lanterns". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 20, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  44. ^ Anderson, Kyle (October 21, 2024). "Aaron Pierre Cast as John Stewart in DC's Lanterns". Nerdist. Archived from the original on October 30, 2024. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
  45. ^ Collura, Scott (November 18, 2024). "James Gunn Hints at When the Lanterns TV Show Will Release, Teases 'Grounded,' 'Believable' Approach". IGN. Archived from the original on November 18, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
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