The New 'Lanterns' Trailer Has Green in It, Everyone Can Relax

After conquering last summer with Superman, James Gunn’s DCU continues its expansion with two high-profile projects on the horizon: Supergirl, which flies into theaters on June 26, and Lanterns, which premieres August 16 on HBO. You clicked on the headline, so you know we’re here to talk about the latter as it unleashes a new trailer to push back on some “controversy.”

I know what you’re thinking: Mike, is this going to be some nerd thing that only nerds were mad about? Yes. 100%. In this case, there was a huge stink over the first Lanterns trailer not having enough green in it, which was only further exacerbated after nerds unearthed a Damon Lindelof joke from a 2025 comedy podcast where he said, “It’s called Lanterns, because we all agreed that the ‘Green’ was stupid, so now it’s just Lanterns.” (He apologized after Grant Morrison got involved.)

Considering this was a guy whose Emmy-nominated Watchmen series was painstakingly detailed and fully embraced comic book tropes, everyone should have taken a deep breath here. Lanterns was in good hands, and the grounded vibes in the first teaser should not have surprised anyone. That was the pitch from the jump: Hal Jordan and John Stewart by way of True Detective. Not only did the original teaser deliver on that front, but Kyle Chandler was chewing scenery and having the time of his life. Everything about it looked fun as hell.

As for the lack of more comic book elements, that aspect was clearly being held back. The teaser, wait for it, even teased as much. Here’s showrunner Chris Mundy spelling out the obvious to EW last week:

“The aesthetic of the show — it’s supposed to be very grounded and real, so we’re shooting practically in places,” he says. “We’re not heavily green-screened. It’s not like day glow in its presentation of anything. I think Green Lantern fans will not feel like we’ve somehow made a brown show of their green comic at all. It’s very much ‘we’re in the world,’ and then when we use the constructs, they’re what people would expect them to be.”

Well, here’s your green trailer. If you want to see space and power rings, it’s all there and was always going to be there. Personally, I would love to have been surprised by some of these shots, but the internet is gonna internet. Enjoy!