DC Fans Rejoice As HBO Officially Releases ‘Lanterns’ Teaser Early After Unauthorized Leak Goes Viral

DCU fans, rejoice: HBO has finally dropped the first teaser for the highly anticipated Lanterns. Premiering this August, the superhero series follows Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) as they investigate a murder in Oklahoma.

After causing consternation within HBO headquarters when the teaser leaked on social media earlier today, HBO Max officially released the teaser on YouTube and X, captioning the video with “You manifested it early.” The series was developed by Damon Lindelof, who created the 11-time Emmy-winning limited series Watchmen for HBO back in 2019. 

The two-minute trailer sees Jordan and Stewart driving down a dirt road, chatting about Green Lantern training. For those who aren’t highly versed on the goings-on of the DCU, Green Lanterns are a group of intergalactic peacekeepers who wear rings (called Power Rings) that give them the ability to create green energy based on imagination and willpower. Stewart is a new recruit to the Green Lantern Corps being mentored by Jordan, a human veteran. 

HBO

“With all due respect, we’ve been training for, what, two months,” says Stewart. “And I haven’t even worn the ring yet.”

Jordan shoots back with “Don’t get hung up on the jewelry, junior,” calling Stewart a “substitute teacher.” He then places the ring on the car dashboard, and jumps out of the moving car, leaving Stewart to take over the wheel as the car dives over a cliff. 

Stewart somehow escapes, and tells Jordan that he “could’ve died.” The veteran replies, “You wanted me to train you, I’m training you.”

Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald stars as Sheriff Kerry Macon and Nathan Fillion is Guy Gardner once again; Fillion has voiced Jordan’s character in multiple DCU films, and played Gardner in last year’s Superman. 

Judging solely by what we saw today, the series appears to be as action-packed as anything we’ve seen from the DC Universe: explosions and a scene of Stewart running through traffic are strategically placed to keep our attention. However, the series takes on a more subdued tone than the 2011 Green Lantern film starring Ryan Reynolds. Panned by critics — it’s earned a measly 25% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes — the film strayed too far from its source material and ended up being colorful mess of terrible CGI and grating Reynolds smarminess.

By hiring Lindelof to helm this project, it appears as if DC has learned from the messy mistakes of its failed franchise starter. If previous series are anything to go off of, Pierre and Chandler may add another Emmy to Lindelof’s shelf (and maybe add a few of their own).

The series will debut in August 2026 on HBO and stream on HBO Max.