HBO and DC Studios have released the first stills from this Sunday's episode of Lanterns. Following the shocking revelations in last weekend's third chapter, we return to 2016 alongside Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
Of course, their relationship is no longer what it seemed, as John knows his training is a mere formality. Hal's ring is rightfully his, and when the time is right, the Guardians of the Universe will make him the new Green Lantern.
Still, we saw John shed a tear over Hal when he found his body in 2026. Seeing as Guy Gardner seemingly wields the ring in his place, something must lead to him refusing to take the mantle from his reluctant mentor.
Back to the Guardians, and these stills also feature more of Lianna. Her name has led to a lot of speculation among fans, especially as her comic book counterpart is a former member of the Guardians of the Universe and an enemy of Kyle Rayner who later joined the Omega Men.
In a recent interview with ScreenRant, Lanterns writer Vanessa Baden-Kelly addressed the changes to John Stewart's origin story and the notion that he was raised to become Sector 2814's Green Lantern.
"When we're thinking about Green Lantern lore, we're not only thinking about being fearless, but about what the Lanterns say: feeling fear and having the willpower to overcome it. I think for John Sr., the fear of leaving his family and his wife and everything that they worked so hard for was not overcomeable. For anybody who loves their children and who loves the people around them, the very last thing they would ever do is leave them. So, in some ways, it's that very thing that makes John Sr. one of the bravest characters in our show."
"Obviously, the Stewarts [may be] the people who are able to raise the next great Green Lantern [due to] the fact that they do experience fear and know where to put up some boundaries and say, "No, I'm never going to do that because my family means more to me." For us, what we wanted to craft when we were crafting John Stewart is a Green Lantern who is deciding to do things a little bit different because he recognizes that the way the ring picks [people] - what it decides is fear, and what it decides isn't - is actually kind of bull crap."
"Having those emotions, having those things that guide you on what you should and shouldn't do, feeling humanity, and feeling emotions actually makes you more apt for the job than lacking them."
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.
The first three episodes of Lanterns are now streaming on HBO Max.