We've only had a teaser trailer for Lanterns, but for some DC fans, that was enough to write the HBO series off. DC Studios has said from the start that it would be a True Detective-style story set in the American Heartland.
Still, the lack of superpowers in the preview has undoubtedly diminished excitement.
Holding back on revealing Oa, colourful aliens, and Power Ring Constructs is understandable—especially when marketing this to HBO's audience—but even just a single shot of Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan showing what he's capable of would have been welcomed.
The first Lanterns trailer leaked online yesterday, forcing HBO to release it a good 20-or-so hours before it had intended to. Given the largely negative response, today would have been the perfect opportunity to perhaps share a poster or some stills that gave sceptical fans a taste of what they've spent the past day demanding.
Instead, we have some pretty regular-looking stills spotlighting Hal, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), and Kelly Macdonald's character. Despite past speculation, it doesn't appear as if she'll be playing Carol Ferris. And, complaints aside, these are some pretty cool shots from the show.
"I've not had so much fun shooting something as I did that," Chandler previously said of Lanterns. "The people on it were absolutely wonderful, from the top to the bottom. I can't say enough about Chris Mundy and the producers and the DC folks."
"It was an excellent experience, and I expect the show to be as good as the experience I had [making it]," he continued. "Aaron Pierre, I worked with him, and we had a great time- and Kelly Macdonald, it was just fantastic."
Take a closer look at these new Lanterns stills below.
Lanterns follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.
Alongside Kyle Chander and Aaron Pierre, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Nicole Ari Parker, Jason Ritter, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Jasmine Cephas Jones round out the cast.
The pilot 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.
Lanterns is executive produced by Mundy, Lindelof, James Gunn, Peter Safran, King, Ron Schmidt, and Hawes, and is based on the DC comic characters from Green Lantern.
Lanterns is set to premiere on HBO in 2026.