Light a lantern.
HBO’s new superhero series “Lanterns” delivers a gritty twist on DC Comics lore, reminiscent of “True Detective.” This fresh take diverges sharply from the widely criticized 2011 film featuring Ryan Reynolds as “The Green Lantern.”
The series premiere on Sunday unfolded with captivating intensity, setting the tone for the season.
In a jaw-dropping move, the debut episode concluded by unexpectedly eliminating the lead character, Hal Jordan, portrayed by Kyle Chandler.
“Lanterns” spins a superhero crime drama centering on the eponymous Lanterns, described in the series as intergalactic law enforcers, or “space cops.”
Earth only has one “space cop” to protect everyone from intergalactic threats — Hal — but he also has a trainee, Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart.
Most of the series premiere follows Hal and John in 2016, as they investigate a case in Nebraska. At the end of the episode, text onscreen says that the year is now 2026.
In the present day, John finds Hal’s dead body sitting on bleachers in that same Nebraska town where they had their case a decade earlier. His cause of death is unclear.
Did “Lanterns” put Chandler on the posters and pretend he’s the star when he’s only in one episode — similar to what ABC did with Ryan Phillippe on the Season 1 premiere of “Big Sky” in 2020?
The bulk of the first episode is set in 2016, when Hal and John are conducting their initial probe into the case in Nebraska. There’s no reason to think the 2016 story is wrapped up by the end of the first episode.
In that timeline, the two men had more to investigate. Hal is alive and well until 2026.
So, with multiple timelines at play, odds are that Chandler isn’t only in one episode.
“Lanterns” is also a superhero show, where death isn’t always final. In the comics it’s based on, the character of Hal Jordan was originally created in 1959.
In a 1996 crossover event in DC Comics known as “The Final Night,” Hal dies. He was later brought back to life in 2004’s “Green Lantern: Rebirth.” (Hal has also been a villain in comics, but that’s another story.)
So, even in the show’s source material he has many evolutions — including death — and that hasn’t stopped his story from continuing, so there’s no real reason to suspect the same isn’t true for “Lanterns.”
“Lanterns” airs on HBO on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET and streams on HBO Max.