Green Lantern Series Finally Greenlit at HBO.
HBO is officially partnering with the Lantern Corps. The premium cable network has ordered “Lanterns,” a series based on the iconic Green Lantern characters, John Stewart and Hal Jordan, from DC Comics. The series will be an eight-episode drama with Chris Mundy, known for his work on “Ozark,” serving as showrunner. He will co-write the series with Damon Lindelof (“Watchmen,” “Lost”) and Eisner Award-winning writer Tom King, famous for his work on various DC Comics titles including Batman, Mister Miracle, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
This development comes almost five years after HBO Max initially began working on a Green Lantern series with producer Greg Berlanti, the creator of the DC Arrow-verse on The CW and a writer of the 2011 “Green Lantern” film starring Ryan Reynolds. The original series was set to feature Green Lanterns Guy Gardner and Alan Scott, with Seth Grahame-Smith as writer and showrunner, and Finn Wittrock and Jeremy Irvine cast in the roles of Gardner and Scott, respectively.
However, a major creative overhaul in 2022 led to Grahame-Smith's departure despite having completed a full season's worth of scripts. The show's focus shifted to John Stewart, marking him as the first Black superhero to appear in DC Comics. This reworking coincided with the appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran as heads of DC Studios, tasked with launching a new DC Universe across film and television.
In early 2023, DC Studios decided to scrap Berlanti's vision in favor of “Lanterns.” Safran explained at a press event that, “Greg's vision was more of a space opera that he wanted to do. Our vision is more True Detective, more of a terrestrial-based investigation story. We all agreed to part ways.”
Interestingly, Mundy's recent work includes HBO's “True Detective: Night Country,” where he served as an executive producer and writer. He has also garnered five Emmy nominations for his writing and producing on Netflix's acclaimed series “Ozark.”
James Gunn and Peter Safran expressed their excitement in a statement: “We're thrilled to bring this seminal DC title to HBO with Chris, Damon, and Tom at the helm. John Stewart and Hal Jordan are two of DC's most compelling characters, and ‘Lanterns' brings them to life in an original detective story that is a foundational part of the unified DCU we're launching next summer with ‘Superman.'”
Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, added, “We are elated to be reuniting with both Chris Mundy and Damon Lindelof as they partner with Tom for this fresh take on DC's Green Lantern. As part of James and Peter's vision for the DC Universe, this first new live-action series will mark an exciting new era.”
“Lanterns” will be produced by Warner Bros. Television and , with Mundy, Lindelof, and King serving as executive producers and writers.
