DC Universe Plans Include Lanterns, A True Detective-Style TV Series

DC Studios co-chairs and co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled a massive DC film and television slate at a press event attended by /Film's Jenna Busch yesterday, and the upcoming lineup is set to include a Green Lantern-led HBO Max mystery series called "Lanterns."

While the news did not include casting announcements or hints at who may write or direct the series, Gunn and Safran revealed that "Lanterns" will star not one but two beloved DC versions of the Green Lantern: Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Safran calls "Lanterns" a "terrestrial-based mystery," while Gunn seemed to confirm that the show will feature the superhero law enforcement group Green Lantern Corps. "We find this ancient Corps on earth and these guys are basically super-cops on precinct Earth," he said at Monday's event.

Gunn and Safran also described a slate of DC projects that includes a connected multiverse including "Superman: Legacy," "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow," "Swamp Thing," and more. While the chronology may not be 100% set in stone, the pair specifies that "Lanterns" will have an impact on the rest of the DCU. "The story is going to weave back and forth between the films and television shows," Safran says, referring to the overarching plot of the upcoming DC projects as one story. "'Peacemaker' is a good example how that works," he adds. "That's what we're going to do with this big overarching story that we're telling."

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.