Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Mike Redmond | News | July 27, 2026
Credit where credit is due: Marvel pulled off a surprising coup at Comic-Con this weekend. Obviously, the studio was going to lean into Avengers: Doomsday after firing up the marketing machine with last week’s trailer. Since things have been wobbly at Marvel as of late, the online chatter assumed the studio would drop the new X-Men cast, spamming that shiny button for a rocket boost of hype. Instead, Marvel surprised everyone by recasting Black Panther and announcing Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider, which worked so well that even Bluesky got caught up in the excitement.
The MCU clearly still has some gas in the tank, but that didn’t change the fact that it finally has some competition nipping at its heels. While Supergirl didn’t exactly put DCU into a strong position heading into Comic-Con, James Gunn’s fledgling enterprise is about to launch a series that, honestly, could be its best proof of concept: Lanterns.
Don’t get me wrong, Superman was fun, but it already feels like the air went out of that balloon. Lanterns, on the other hand, is set to unfold for eight weeks on HBO Max, a platform where shows like House of the Dragon put up record numbers. Judging by the latest trailer coming out of Comic-Con, this series is not messing around. It’s both a massive expansion of the DCU that fully leans into its comic book roots with a True Detective candy shell. That was evident from the jump, but the internet decided to throw a hissy fit because there wasn’t enough green in the first trailer. Call me strange, but I trusted the creator of HBO’s Watchmen, and he brought the goods.
The new trailer has everything: Green energy blasts, super suits, Sinestro, Manhunters, Guy Gardner, and the show’s most powerful weapon, Kyle Chandler having a goddamn blast. Already, we’re getting hints of his chemistry with Aaron Pierre, and yup, I’ll have that for an hour every Sunday.
