Will HBO Max’s ‘Lanterns’ make a DC fan of me?
Will HBO Max’s ‘Lanterns’ make a DC fan of me?
The show premieres next Sunday on HBO Max, and I’m intruiged to see if it can hook me into a wider DCU fandom.
The upcoming week has some real gems to stream. The season finale of “X-Men '97” is coming up on Wednesday, and on Friday, a new cut of “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” will debut on Hulu. But despite those temptations, the title I’m most intrigued by in the week to come is “Lanterns,” the new DCU series premiering on HBO Max on Sunday, Aug. 16.
I’ve never been a real fan of the DC universe — it just never grabbed me the way the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been able to do. Characters within the DC canon, like Batman, have always held interest for me to some degree, but others like the Green Lantern simply never captured my imagination. So why am I so excited to give “Lanterns” a try?
“Lanterns” introduces (or reintroduces) viewers to John Stewart, a new recruit in the Lantern Corps. Under the tutelage of grizzled veteran Hal Jordan, the two are pulled into an Earth-based murder mystery that has consequences which could echo across the stars.
One of the reasons I’m excited for the show is that I’m an enormous fan of Kyle Chandler, who portrays veteran Lantern Hal Jordan in the series. Ever since my parents turned on a (somewhat goofy) Saturday night drama series called “Early Edition one fateful evening, I’ve thought well of Chandler, whose performance as Coach Eric Taylor on “Friday Night Lights” is still one of the best on TV in the past 25 years.
See the trailer for ‘Lanterns’
But it’s not just his involvement that has me so curious about the show — it’s got a big ensemble cast packed with talented actors, including Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, Kelly Macdonald as Sheriff Kerry, Garret Dillahunt as William Macon, and Poorna Jagannathan as Zoe. Laura Linney and Nathan Fillion are also expected to show up in the series as Guy Gardner, which will connect the show to the wider DCU; Fillion also portrayed Gardner in last summer’s “Superman” movie.
I’m still not all that interested in the connective tissue between “Lanterns” and other DC properties. What intrigues me far more is the show’s detective themes — much of the trailer above gives it a modern noir feel. Fans of the comics may be thrilled to see Chandler don the traditional Green Lantern garb when he visits Sinestro in an intergalactic-looking prison, but I’m much more excited to see what the characters are given room to do when it’s grounded on Earth.
That isn’t to say my mind is closed to the idea of becoming absorbed into the DC fandom. “Superman” was a fun enough watch, and while I didn’t see “Supergirl” in theaters, it’s on my to-stream list when it’s released. These characters and titles have their moments; they just don’t have a lasting hold on me the way other fantasy characters from marquee franchises do.
Is “Lanterns” the show that will change that? It’s almost time to find out. The series premieres on Aug. 16, with one episode per week to drop following that debut. The first season will have eight episodes in total, so it won’t wrap up until early October. Viewers can stream it weekly with a subscription to HBO Max starting at $11 per month.
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