Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy already has ideas about where the HBO series could go in a second season. However, fans hoping John Stewart will finally leave Earth behind for a more traditional cosmic Green Lantern adventure may be disappointed.
Following the conclusion of the show’s first season, Mundy revealed that the current plan is to keep Lanterns primarily grounded on Earth if HBO orders more episodes.
“We like the idea of the show being very grounded,” Mundy told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s a little more tactile ‘of this earth,’ ‘of this world’ kind of thing. So it was for us to plant that flag.”
Mundy acknowledged that Lanterns has demonstrated its ability to venture beyond Earth, leaving room for occasional cosmic detours.
“But again, we’ve proven that we can sneak in other stuff, too, if the story warrants it,” he added.
That philosophy would certainly maintain the identity established during the show’s first season. Whether it is the best approach for a series about the Green Lantern Corps is another question.
Lanterns Season 2 Would Remain on Earth
Season 1 deliberately separated itself from a conventional superhero adventure, instead borrowing heavily from crime dramas. Before its premiere, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran famously described the project as being “very much in the vein of True Detective.”
That may be an interesting, if somewhat derivative, pitch depending on the comic book source material. However, Lanterns co-creator Damon Lindelof sparked tremendous backlash when he said, “It’s called Lanterns because we all agreed that the green was stupid, so now it’s just Lanterns.”
Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan in Lanterns – HBO, DC Studios
While he later backtracked, many fans felt the message was clear: virtually everything about Green Lantern was apparently negotiable.
The first season went on to change elements of Hal Jordan and John Stewart’s backstories and defining character traits. It changed the iconic Green Lantern oath. And it kept two of DC Comics’ most famous space-faring law-enforcement officers largely confined to rural Nebraska.
Mundy apparently has no intention of abandoning that approach.
Don’t Expect Lanterns to Suddenly Go Cosmic
Speaking on The Ringer-Verse podcast, the showrunner similarly explained that another season would “most likely” remain an Earth-based story.
“We’ve shown that you can leave the planet, so that’s good, right?” Mundy said. “But because of that, we want to make whoever’s here as sort of grounded and real as possible.”
He explained that the strategy is to establish that grounded foundation before gradually adding more fantastical elements, including additional members of the Green Lantern Corps.
Aaron Pierre as John Stewart and Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan in Lanterns – HBO, DC Studios
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For viewers who enjoyed Lanterns as a character-driven mystery, that approach makes sense. Season 2 would presumably feel like a continuation rather than an entirely different television series.
But Green Lantern is also one of DC’s most inherently cosmic properties.
The comics offer an entire universe through the Green Lantern Corps, complete with alien civilizations, thousands of Lanterns, the Guardians of the Universe, Oa, competing emotional spectrums, and threats that stretch far beyond Earth.
Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner fight side by side as Green Lanterns – YouTube, Comics Explained
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Keeping John Stewart planted primarily on one planet inevitably limits how much of that mythology Lanterns can explore.
Season 1 could justify that restraint as an introduction. Maintaining it indefinitely risks making the cosmic elements feel like occasional additions to a terrestrial detective series rather than the foundation of Green Lantern itself.
It also raises a larger question about whether the creatives behind Lanterns want to deliver the Green Lantern series longtime fans have been waiting for, or the version they believe those fans should want instead.
HBO Has Not Renewed Lanterns
There is also one major caveat surrounding all this discussion: Lanterns Season 2 has not officially been ordered.
Mundy made that clear when discussing the show’s future with Entertainment Weekly.
“You always approach these situations with assuming something’s gonna happen and not being heartbroken if it doesn’t happen,” he explained, later adding, “If there’s more, great. And if there’s not, we had our day.”
Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy – The Ringer-Verse, YouTube
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So these comments should be viewed as Mundy’s current creative direction rather than confirmation of what audiences will actually see.
If Lanterns does return, however, it increasingly sounds as though fans should not expect Season 2 to suddenly transform into the sprawling intergalactic Green Lantern adventure some hoped Season 1 would eventually become.
Mundy appears committed to keeping the series grounded.
The bigger question is whether Green Lantern should be.
How do you feel about the Lanterns showrunner saying that Season 2 will remain grounded on Earth? Sound off and let us know!
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