A New Successor to the Throne
Lanterns has been a commercial success for HBO Max at the most furtunate time. HBO Max must constantly come up with new shows to keep viewers engaged to the streaming platform. Franchises like Game of Thrones and The Last of Us can only be milked for so long before viewers get bored. People first cut the cord so switching their app is no problem. They require bold new shows to keep them hooked. Lanterns drew in the fans at a time when the studio needed it the most. Skydance is here and the future of the DC Universe needed a good new first step.
A Light Bulb Idea
Focusing on the Lantern Corp was an interesting selection after the poor theatrical reception of Ryan Reynold’s Green Lantern film. Even the MCU made fun of the flaws that doomed that production. DC Comics has so many intellectual properties to choose from and yet they stuck with Hal, John and the Guardians. A rinse and repeat of the old action story would not erase what was still fresh in fans minds. A new course had to be taken and this show did it by breaking the mold. Lanterns was a blending of the super hero and cop buddy genres set in the James Gunn's DC Universe. Comic book fans were excited to see a fresh take of two of the most historic Green Lanters streamed on their devices.
Lethal Weapon with Rings
A successful story mechanism is when the older generation is being phased out by the new. John Stewart getting trained by Hal Jordan has been told so many times. This time the story incorporated DC Comic heroes. In the end the fact that they were heroes was the least interesting attribute of their lives. Non-comic fans could follow the series without a full understanding of the DC Universe. Characters were fleshed out to make viewers care about them rather than follow known cliché origins. Many could identify with Hal's isolation in the world even when he carried the most powerful weapon in the universe. Others saw in themselves John, whose self identity was never truly his to define. Their flaws saw more screen time than their powers. That final issue was the one negative aspect of the show that most fans seemed to hold out even to the finale would be addressed. We seen their warts, but where was their gifts.
Where’s the Light?
The shows was called Lanterns. When fans saw the subject matter of the series they assumed the SFX to be comparable to what they seen in Superman. Viewers could only speculate as to the constructs Hal and John could create and how they would appear on the small screen. Would the veteran and the gifted artist/trainee differ from Guy Gardner’s rudimentary images? Instead of being bombarded with these creations, the special effects were not all that special. Simple images and constant use of a dark settings kept those visuals very low key. While viewers hated it, others actually loved it. The success of Lanterns may now serve as the future blueprint for the DC Universe as well as the MCU and Star Wars franchise going forward
Hal Jordan vs Darth Vadar vs She-Hulk
Many fans who watched Lanterns were the same individuals who experienced offerings from Disney+. Seasons of Star Wars: The Mandalorian were theater quality events loved by fans. Each episode was like watching a mini movie full of space battles feeding the visual appetite. The lackluster She-Hulk television show tried to keep the SFX to the bare minimum but most episodes still had more special effects than what was seen on Lanterns. Fans saw right through those computer generated distractions. SFX were not new. Stories were more important now than a few key explosions and digital webbing. Less could be more. This method could be the new formula for shows going forward.
Lanterns Saving the Green
If you ever set foot on a television or movie set there is a lot to see. Filming a television show is an expensive process. A director’s vision may be artistic and grandiose, but bringing that to the screen may be very costly. A two-minute B-roll shot may take several days to shoot, only to end up on the cutting room floor because of pacing or story continuity issues. This author was on a film set where a scene had to be reshot because of a background actor's walkie talkie was visible in their hand, thus destroying the image the director wanted for the shot. Many expenses are required to be spent on tv shows that even the most educated viewer may not realize. Salaries are basic expenditures. Incidental costs such as insurance, vehicle rentals, wardrobe, and craft services for the production team and extras can also add to a rising balance sheet. Then there is all the advertising needed to promote a film. Any savings is looked on fondly by studio executives.
New Story Telling for the Screen
Lanterns could be the new future for fans. Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King took a great risk. They chose to introduce several established space heroes and villains in a method not before utilized. These characters were in every practical sense experiencing their tale in a terrestrial setting. No battles or exciting visuals. Instead we had a story of space cops with no use of space. A simple black dot instead was a bridge to different planets. In the end, the creative team was able to tell a story of characters with cosmic connections in a budget restrained way, and that may be both great and bad for fans.
Superman and the Accountant
HBO Max and the DC Comics characters were part of a mega corporate merger. The reduced SFX that Lanterns utilized in production could now be important to Skydance’s bottom line. Keeping costs down while still producing content might be the best thing Gunn can do to maintain the helm of the DC Universe. Skydance may not be as receptive to films and tv shows producing poor returns on investments. An emphasis on storytelling with SFX kept to a minimum could be one way to keep Skydance executives happy, but what about the fans? The question is will fickle fans accept super hero projects without them being super for long.
Trainee Lessons Learned
Lanterns Season 1 demonstrated that Gunn is a talented visionary. He chose established characters and fleshed them out in a different setting than fans expected. A good story is nice, but how long can Lanterns hold off showing more frequent use of the ring in space? Game of Thrones was great, but even that story needed some epic battles. Lanterns Season 1 was a good start, but now the bar is set high. A procedural crime drama with a hint of powers in Season 2 may not keep viewers interested. They will eventually want more. This will be even more problematic if fans see Stewart on film doing things he never even comes close to doing on his tv show.
Crystal Ball Time
In the end, the success of the DC Universe now requires a Justice League approach where producers, directors, actors and the accountants all are working together to produce quality tv shows and films. Will these individuals fight it out like most movies start with any team, or will they bypass the disputes and work together like a well oiled superhero team at the end of a film? If they fight it out, the success of Lanterns Season 1 will be but a distant memory fans talk about as the good old days of the DC Universe.