LANTERNS Director Teases Humor And Promises The Show "Doesn't Lack Its Sci-Fi Magic" Despite Grounded Setting

LANTERNS Director Teases Humor And Promises The Show "Doesn't Lack Its Sci-Fi Magic" Despite Grounded Setting

Lanterns director James Hawes has talked about his approach to the DC Studios TV series, teasing the show's humour and promising that it won't be lacking in sci-fi magic. You can find out more here...

By JoshWilding - Mar 28, 2025 06:03 PM EST
Filed Under: Lanterns
Source: Collider

Cameras are currently rolling on Lanterns, and Slow Horses' James Hawes has been tapped to helm the first two episodes.

Those will set the tone for Green Lantern's corner of the DCU, and thanks to Ryan Reynolds frequently reminding people how bad the 2011 movie was, they'll also be vital in convincing people to give the Corps another chance. 

Hawes has an impressive list of credits to his name; as well as directing the Rami Malek-led The Amateur, he's previously worked on shows like SnowpiercerThe Alienist, Black Mirror, and Raised by Wolves

Discussing his vision for Lanterns with Collider, Hawes said, "There is a very particular humor that they brought to this. It's very rooted in a way that I like to think we achieve with Slow Horses, that I achieve with things like my Black Mirror's, and yet there is a rich vein of humor running through it."

"So, again, it was about that tone. I'm such a huge fan of Damon [Lindelof] and Chris [Mundy] and the writing that they've done in the past...it all starts from the script. When you turn those pages, can you get the smell of it?"

"You always find a scene or two that you think, 'I can't wait to be stood beside the camera and the cast, directing this scene on the day,'" he continued. "If that happens on turning the pages, you know this is something you have to take seriously, and that absolutely happened with Lanterns."

"To some extent, it's a swerve. Superheroes are not somewhere I've really played before, but it's created in such a way—and I can't tell you much—that it bewitched me," Hawes added. "It doesn't lack its sci-fi magic, but it's done in a world where you accept that these things just are."

"They don't need that extra sprinkle of sci-fi fairy dust. It works within a physical world that we've come to know."

It's hard to fault anything he's saying here, and while he couldn't get into specifics, Hawes described the cast as "electric" and shared plenty of praise for Lanterns' Hal Jordan and John Stewart, Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre. 

"I'm going to use slightly strange words, but the first word that came to mind was 'authenticity.' The next word is 'charm,'" he said of the show's co-stars. "These are two people you just want to hang out with. There's just no doubt. You want to hang with them. You want to go on that journey. Add to that Kelly Macdonald, who I've worked with before on Black Mirror."

"You get people who are just so classy and so busy inhabiting their roles, so you never doubt it," Hawes concluded. "They're not on the outside—they’re deep in those skins."

We'll get a better idea of what to expect from the DCU's take on the Green Lantern Corps when Superman is released this summer. Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner in the movie and is expected to make a cameo appearance in Lanterns

The series being set primarily on Earth has raised eyebrows and led to concerns about it featuring relatively little in the way of Green Lantern action. Hopefully, Hawes' comments will go some way in easing those worries.

DC Studios' Lanterns follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.

Chris Mundy (True Detective: Night Country) is serving as showrunner and executive producer and will write Lanterns with Damon Lindelof (Watchmen) and comic book scribe Tom King (Supergirl). The cast includes Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan, and Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro. 

Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Nicole Ari Parker, Jason Ritter, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Jasmine Cephas Jones round out the supporting cast.

Lanterns is set to premiere on HBO and Max in 2026.

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harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 3/28/2025, 6:12 PM
green lanterns are space cops and u put them on the phucking ground? I blame you Josh for this
User Comment Image
UncleHarm1
UncleHarm1 - 3/28/2025, 6:52 PM
@harryba11zack - Technically the ground is in space... everything is.......
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 3/28/2025, 6:58 PM
@UncleHarm1 -
User Comment Image
UncleHarm1
UncleHarm1 - 3/28/2025, 7:49 PM
@harryba11zack - 😂

Why can't you just be dull as dishwater like the other trolls on here. Your beliefs are absolute ba11s but I gotta admit you got a chuckle out of me.

User Comment Image
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 3/28/2025, 9:24 PM
@UncleHarm1 -

You're one of the trolls.

Don't be a hypocrite.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 3/29/2025, 4:57 AM
"You're one of the trolls.

Don't be a hypocrite."

- MakeAmericaGrea
UncleHarm1
UncleHarm1 - 3/29/2025, 10:55 AM
@MakeAmericaGrea - Yeah I'm just better at it than you. I was thinking of you while I wrote dull as dishwater, picturing the absence of light behind your sagging, puffy, alcoholic eyes. Picturing your combover flowing in the wind like undead Fabio.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 3/28/2025, 6:27 PM
There's no way they could've made a space epic or something like that. It'd cost 300 million and probably end up looking like shit. I'll give this a chance
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 3/28/2025, 6:43 PM
@bobevanz - this is what we should have got
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1S_-Rsjt5Io
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 3/28/2025, 9:25 PM
@bobevanz -

Uh - happy medium?

How about do what they can with $200 million?

And it could look good if they put in effort.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 3/28/2025, 9:27 PM
@harryba11zack -

Yes.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 3/28/2025, 6:35 PM
Sounds good!!.

Going by his comments , even if the show takes place mainly on Earth then that doesn’t mean there won’t be sci fi elements there and that they will be presented in moreso a “matter of fact” manner then with wonderment which could be interesting…

It does make sense though since this seems like a world already familiar with powers & such and it’s not like our leads will be discovering those elements since Hal is already a veteran in this and John , while a rookie is familiar with the Lantern mythos to an extent.

Anyway this is my most anticipated DCU project right now so can’t wait to see it , especially in regards to Kyle Chandler’s & Aaron Pierre’s takes on Hal and John especially!!.
tmp3
tmp3 - 3/28/2025, 6:39 PM
Love the way he’s describing this. Fuuuuuck, cannot wait for this one
HulkisHoly
HulkisHoly - 3/28/2025, 6:46 PM
Excited for this one.
SolarSoldier
SolarSoldier - 3/28/2025, 7:13 PM
The way racists feel about anybody not white being cast in anything, is how I feel about people saying "superheroes" need to be grounded.

NO. THEY. DON'T.

If I want grounded I'll watch Law and Order or NCIS.

I want situations that couldn't happen in real life.

It's so annoying that people who don't like science-fiction/fantasy/superheroes/whatever infiltrate to make it boring. Go watch a reality show and leave my superheroes stuff being whimsical.

Green Lantern out of ANY property should NOT be grounded. He has a freaking magic ring that makes anything he thinks of and can protect him from almost any attack. There is nothing grounded about that and making things for "everybody" instead of the niche who likes it is why there's superhero fatigue. Making it for everybody instead of actual fans.
tmp3
tmp3 - 3/28/2025, 8:39 PM
@SolarSoldier - idk, this is from the same show-runner who gave us the squid in Watchmen - it’s not gonna be that grounded. We’re finally getting good writers on these things, in projects that actually respect the audiences’ intelligence, I feel like this should be a god send after the pure dog shit 90% of CBMs are these days
GodHercules20
GodHercules20 - 3/29/2025, 7:54 AM
@SolarSoldier - User Comment Image

So tired of this grounded bs

Give us superhero doing superhero stuff
SolarSoldier
SolarSoldier - 3/30/2025, 8:32 PM
@tmp3 - I haven't seen Watchmen yet, but noted.
1stDalek
1stDalek - 3/28/2025, 7:52 PM
If Earth is on its 3rd Green Lantern then a lot of the initial wonder would have faded already, so I like the idea that the powers and sci-fi stuff is presented almost mundanely.
MisterBones
MisterBones - 3/28/2025, 7:54 PM
This is what I like to hear. Can’t wait for this.
OrionPax
OrionPax - 3/28/2025, 8:10 PM
This is the right approach, and Chandler & Pierre are both underrated imo. Hopefully this is what I’ve waited 33 years for!🤞
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 3/28/2025, 9:28 PM
@OrionPax -

You waited 33 years for old Hal walking aboot with John?
BeNice123
BeNice123 - 3/29/2025, 11:07 AM
@OrionPax - 38 years for me. I love the actors chosen. I cant wait.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 3/28/2025, 9:30 PM
Hal is most people's favorite Green Lantern.

This should have been a movie with Hal as the protagonist in his 20s or 30s.

Basically something like the Ryan Reynolds movie.

But better.

Then do a sequel or three.
asherman93
asherman93 - 3/29/2025, 2:38 AM
@MakeAmericaGrea - For people who grew up with the Justice League animated series, it'd be more accurate to say John Stewart is the more recognized Green Lantern.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 3/29/2025, 10:35 AM
@asherman93 -

Not necessarily.

And I said what I said.

Miles isn't more popular than Peter just because a bunch of people saw the Spiderverse duology.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 3/29/2025, 10:37 AM
@asherman93 -

A bunch of people watched Batman Beyond when it was new.

That doesn't mean James Gunn should make Bruce 50 or 60 something, and make Terry the protagonist of the second DCCU.
ARegularCrab
ARegularCrab - 3/29/2025, 3:25 AM
All I want to know is how many seasons will I be waiting before Atrocitus turns up
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 3/29/2025, 5:00 AM
"It doesn't lack its sci-fi magic, but it's done in a world where you accept that these things just are."

This intrigues the fizzle out of me. I'm anxious to see how this universe plays to a large audience with Superman. How is this world gonna be presented in a way that acceptably works?
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 3/29/2025, 10:41 AM
@ObserverIO -

Maybe it won't be accepted.

James Gunn and co. may fumble with too much of an unloved tone and too much wokeness.
Marvelll
Marvelll - 3/29/2025, 6:45 AM
Seeing as they're walking down the road dressed like that, the ring will be empty, and John won't have a ring for the time being.
It's probably due to budget, and he'll only be able to use it in limited moments.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 3/29/2025, 10:42 AM
Gangrene Lantern.

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