Much of what DC Studios announced at the start of 2023 hasn't panned out. In Lanterns' case, James Gunn said the series would feature a "few" Green Lanterns in addition to Hal Jordan and John Stewart. He also promised a "terrifying mystery" that ties into the wider DCU.
Short of some huge surprises in next Sunday's finale, neither statement appears to be true. However, going back to that announcement video, the truth about plans for John may have been in front of us the entire time.
Gunn used artwork from Green Lantern: Earth One, featuring Hal in a grounded costume that's been adapted for the DCU and John as a Yellow Lantern. That can't have been an accident, and as we head into the final episode, it's looking increasingly likely that John will don a yellow ring rather than a green one.
He's already rejected the Green Lantern Corps' offer to protect Sector-2814 as its Green Lantern, and Hal's ring appears moments away from losing its charge once and for all (we know that the ring was originally retired, with Guy Gardner given a newly created ring).
It's important to note that, on Earth One, there was no emotional spectrum. The Green Lantern rings weren't fuelled by willpower—which also seems to be the case in the DCU—and the Yellow Lanterns were more akin to freedom fighters, granted powered rings by a rogue Guardian of the Universe. Their powers weren't fear-based, and they weren't villains.
If what we've seen in the promo for the Lanterns finale is any indication, fear could come into play in the DCU, and we wouldn't be surprised if John's willpower turns it green. After all, there have been repeated hints about him being unique, especially as he can maintain constructs without wearing the ring.
With that in mind, we'd say there's a real chance John becomes a Yellow Lantern in the Lanterns finale and at least a slim possibility that he's still clad in yellow in next summer's Man of Tomorrow. We also wouldn't discount the possibility of Sinestro and a resurrected Hal forming the Yellow Lantern Corps, with the latter potentially falling under Parallax's influence in Season 2.
Perhaps that's a little comic book-y for DC Studios' take on Lanterns, but Gunn's endgame for John may have been staring us in the face the entire time.
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.
Alongside Kyle Chander and Aaron Pierre, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Nicole Ari Parker, Jason Ritter, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Jasmine Cephas Jones round out the cast.
Seven episodes of Lanterns are now streaming on HBO Max.