DC Studios “Lanterns” Teaser Trailer Is Disappointingly Dim

The official teaser trailer for the upcoming live-action series Lanterns has been released, and as expected, the content shown is already being dragged by the comic book fandom.

With James Gunn taking over DC Studios for Warner Bros., comic book fans are still waiting to really get behind his vision. The David Corenswet-starring Superman was well-received; however, it failed to overperform at the box office. A sequel, titled Man of Tomorrow, has been confirmed for 2027, but with the current developments concerning Paramount buying Warner Bros Studios, let’s see how the supposed second installment to Gunn’s Superman movies pans out.

Other than that, the live-action Supergirl movie starring Milly Alcock is eyeing a June 26, 2026, theatrical debut. There’s hype around the movie, but not without its fair share of backlash. Seeing a drunk Supergirl with a whole lot of emotional baggage leading a movie isn’t for everyone.

As for one of the new projects on the small screen, we have Lanterns, which stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as Hal Jordan and John Stewart, respectively. While I have seen Hal Jordan fans not appreciating a version of the character that’s nearing retirement, I have to say that Pierre as John Stewart is some good casting.

Anyway, with Chris Mundy serving as showrunner, the upcoming story (Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King are credited as Co-Creators) has been described as a more grounded take on the cosmic characters. Comparisons to True Detective were made during the show’s initial marketing campaign. Understandably, that didn’t encourage much faith in the project across the Green Lantern fandom. However, most of them were still ready to give the show a chance due to the creatives involved.

And now with the teaser being made officially available (after being leaked online), I would say that Lanterns needs to be ready to fight an uphill battle because the fandom, even some of the most welcoming fans I know, are not having it!

You can watch the trailer yourself here!

Yeah, that doesn’t look like a Green Lantern show at all. The almost cool-looking featured image isn’t even present in the teaser. The show feels like yet another unfortunate example of a creative wanting to tell a very specific story and deciding to slap a “popular superhero IP” sticker on it to increase the chances of it being made. Take out the scarce Green Lantern stuff from the teaser, and what are you left with? One more addition to the run-of-the-mill murder mystery cop shows that features an older cop hesitant about passing the torch to the fresh recruit.

Again, that’s not what the fandom was expecting from a live-action show based on the Green Lanterns IP, which is supposed to be space cops with tons of aliens.

Where is all the green? Why is Hal Jordan able to fly without being covered in a green aura? Why is Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner being ignored? Why does John have to “prove” himself to Hal and wait for the ring to finally choose him? Who designed that suit?

For a show meant to exist in the same cinematic universe as Superman, Lanterns is bringing no connective familiarity to the table.

Of course, I understand not wanting to spoil major narrative developments in teaser and official trailers. However, in my opinion (as well as in the opinion of most fans), the Lanterns teaser trailer seems to be “hiding” the Green Lantern stuff because the show was produced on a shoestring budget, instead of not wanting to spoil the cool stuff, because it likely doesn’t exist.

Sigh!

Lanterns is supposed to debut sometime in August this year.

What did you think of the Lanterns official teaser trailer?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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