Lanterns is the new series from HBO and DC Studios. It follows Hal Jordan as he must train John Stewart to be his backup as Earth’s Green Lantern. During their training, they encounter a murder in the rural American town of Rushville, Nebraska. As they investigate it, a darker mystery begins to unfold where they must uncover the truth.
The leads of Hal Jordan and John Stwart are played by veteran television star Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) and Aaron Pierre (Mufasa: The Lion King, Rebel Ridge). Pierre is already filming scenes for James Gunn’s Superman sequel “Man of Tomorrow”, so that should tell you how crucial the character of John Stewart will be to the DCU going forward.
The show features a host of DC characters from the comics, as well as brand new original characters created for the show. So here’s a guide to every character in the show.
Every Character in Lanterns
Hal Jordan — Kyle Chandler
The elder statesman of the two leads, Hal Jordan is a former test pilot and legendary member of the Green Lantern Corps. In the DCU, Hal Jordan is older and approaching retirement, filling in to train John Stewart. A notable change from the comics where Hal and John are usually closer in age. Kyle Chandler is best known as Coach Taylor on Friday Night Lights, and the trailer already shows him bringing considerable dramatic weight to the role as well as some great comedic moments.
John Stewart — Aaron Pierre
Pierre plays John Stewart, one of the most iconic Green Lantern’s and characters in DC history. In the DCU, Stewart is new to the Green Lantern Corps at the start of the series, and Hal Jordan serves as his mentor. Pierre broke through in Netflix’s Rebel Ridge and is now leading one of HBO’s and the DCU’s most anticipated shows.
Guy Gardner — Nathan Fillion
Fillion reprises his role from Superman as Guy Gardner, a fellow member of the Green Lantern Corps and the Justice Gang. In the trailer, Hal jokes that he’s the only human Green Lantern, but clearly that will be proven false because Guy Gardner is confirmed to appear in the show. Having already appeared in Peacemaker Season 2 as well, Guy is becoming a connective thread in James Gunn’s DCU. Fillion has described Gardner as fearless but not good or nice, and he says that he dropped a huge amount of F bombs when filming his scenes for Lanterns, so we cane xpect to see a different side to him from the one in Superman, and more like him in Peacemaker.
Sheriff Kerry — Kelly Macdonald
Macdonald portrays Sheriff Kerry, a woman described as deeply devoted to her family and her small town, which becomes central to the season’s mystery. As the local law enforcement figure in the Nebraska murder investigation, Kerry is likely to be one of the more human anchor of the dramatic part of the story.
Sinestro — Ulrich Thomsen
Thomsen is set to play Sinestro, a former member of the Green Lantern Corps who has since gone rogue. Sinestro is the most significant villain in Green Lantern mythology, having been the antagonist for the 2011 film as well. His inclusion signals that while the season’s central story may be an Earth-based murder mystery, there will be cosmic stakes that potentially serve as the big twist.
William Macon — Garrett Dillahunt
Dillahunt’s William Macon is one of the richest men in the town of Rushville. He invites Hal Jordan to his ranch in Episode 1 after Hal begins investigating the murder at the football game. It remains to be seen whether his character is simply part of the murder mystery, or a large sci-fi inspired twist.
William “Billy” Macon Jr — Jason Ritter
Ritter plays Billy Macon, Sheriff Kerry’s husband, and the son of William Macon. This placing him at the intersection of the local law enforcement storyline and the Macon family.
Zoe Macon — Poorna Jagannathan
Jagannathan plays Zoe, William Macon’s wife. Zoe is shown as being romantically interested in John Stewart, after she first meets him at a bar in Rushville in the first episode. They later reunite at the Macon’s ranch, where she then reveals she’s the wife of William Macon and the mother of Billy Macon, making her the grandmother and matriarch of the family.
Antaan — Paul Ben-Victor
Ben-Victor is expected to play Antaan, an extraterrestrial character described as devoted to finding the truth. His alien nature will most likely tie into how the show transforms from a seemingly small-scale Earth-based mystery to a (hopefully) larger cosmic mystery, given the themes of the Green Lantern stories.
Laura Linney — Lianna, A Guardian of the Universe
Laura Linney plays Lianne, one of the Guardians of the Universe. The Guardians are powerful beings who live on the planet Oa and control the Green Lantern Corps. They created the original Green Lantern rings and it is their job to set the rules for the Lantern corps. The Guardians are large beings with blue skin, however they have the ability to appear as human and Linney plays one of them in their human form.
Waylon Sanders — Chris Coy
Coy is plays Waylon Sanders, a truck driver whose real identity is revealed to be an alien in disguise in the first episode.
Bernadette Stewart — Nicole Ari Parker
Parker portrays Bernadette Stewart, John Stewart’s mother, Her appearances take place during the flashbacks set in 1996, when we see John Stewart’s childhood and find out how he was raised.
John Stewart Sr. — J. Alphonse Nicholson (Young Age)
Nicholson portrays the younger version of John Stewart’s father. His appearances take place during the flashbacks set in 1996, when we see John Stewart’s childhood and find out how he was raised.
John Stewart Sr. — Sherman Augustus (Old Age)
Augustus portrays the older version of John’s father, who will appear in the episodes that take place in present day.
Release Date and DCU Timeline
Lanterns take place in 2016, with a time jump to present day in 2026. This makes it both a prequel and sequel to James Gunn’s Superman movie, which takes place in 2025. Lanterns also has some key scenes that take place further back, including in 1996, that show John Stewart’s childhood.
Lanterns Episode 1 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes every Sunday for an 8-episode season.
If you enjoyed our analysis of Every Character in HBO and DC Studio’s Lanterns, check out more from Screen Brief below.
Read our exclusive interview with the cast and creators of Lanterns here, including Kyle Chander, Aaron Pierre, and writers Damon Lindelof, Tom King and Chris Mundy.
