Though he did approve the idea for Lanterns, James Gunn wasn't directly involved with the creative process. Even so, the DC Studios co-CEO seems to be fairly hands-on with every project that's given the green light, and no doubt had some input in the development of the HBO Max series.
Even if he didn't, the Superman director's social media presence makes every post a beacon for criticism, and last night's Lanterns finale tease has been getting ratioed since the episode streamed.
Lanterns has been a big hit with critics (the full season is sitting at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes), and a major ratings success to boot, with the season averaging above 12 million viewers per episode to date in the U.S. and nearly 19 million when factoring in international stats. But for many DC Comics fans familiar with these characters, the positive aspects didn't outweigh the perceived "character assassination" of John Stewart and Hal Jordan - Hal, in particular.
A lot of people have been letting Gunn know exactly how they felt about "Dirt and Stars," which has proven to be somewhat divisive even among those who had been on board for the previous seven episodes.
Gunn previously addressed the criticisms of the show in a recent Threads post.
"I'd say avid comics readers are well aware of the differences from universe to universe. Whether it's the DCU or Earth 0 or the Absolute Universe, they all pay homage to these iconic characters, retelling their stories in different ways. Heck, even the MCU combined elements of the Ultimate universe, the 616, and original ideas."
"That's how these things work," he added. "But if you want the DCU to take the exact trajectory of whatever your favorite comics continuity is, that's probably not going to happen."
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HBO in association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios. The pilot episode is co-written by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, who are co-creators for the series. Mundy serves as showrunner. The first two episodes are directed by James Hawes, with Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Alik Sakharov also tapped to direct. The series is executive produced by Mundy, Lindelof, James Gunn, Peter Safran, King, Ron Schmidt, and Hawes. Based on the DC comic characters from Green Lantern.
The series stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Nathan Fillion, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Jasmine Cephas Jones.
The series follows new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Lantern legend Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.