Earlier reports about Lanterns being grounded may have been misconstrued by fans.
Recently, James Gunn tried to clarify those comments, and now, James Hawes, who directed the Lanterns pilot, is doing the same.
Hawes recently spoke to Phase Hero about the release of The Amateur but also touched on his work on the DCU's upcoming Green Lantern drama.
"The scripts have so much with, so much character, it's a buddy cop movie, played out in a True Detective, Fargo, No Country For Old Men naturalistic [way] and then somebody flies," exclaimed the British television director.
Addressing previous reports and comments about the series being grounded and the assumption that everything is set on Earth, Hawes stated, "I'm going to talk very obliquely about this because there are excitements to come," teased Hawes.
"It won't disappoint the classic fans. I think it will invite in a whole new audience as well, " Hawes said. "Because we get to meet the characters in quite a rooted way before it takes you intergalactic."
The Lanterns talk starts at the [07:49] mark in the video below.
Filming on Lanterns reportedly wraps next month.
Lanterns stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. Fans will also see Nathan Fillion reprise his role as the abrasive Guy Gardner, connecting Lanterns to his appearance in the upcoming Superman film.
The stellar cast also includes Kelly Macdonald as Sheriff Kerry, a pivotal character in the local mystery, while Ulrich Thomsen will portray the iconic rogue Sinestro, Hal Jordan's former mentor. Other key cast members include Garret Dillahunt as the conspiracy-minded William Macon, Jason Ritter as his charming son Billy, Nicole Ari Parker as John Stewart's mother Bernadette.
Lanterns is co-written by Chris Mundy (who also serves as showrunner), Damon Lindelof, and Tom King. James Hawes is directing the first two episodes. Filming for the series began in February 2025 in Los Angeles.
With a scheduled premiere on HBO in early 2026 (and streaming on Max), the 8-episode Lanterns is poised to lay foundational elements for the DCU's overarching narrative.
The official synopsis for the series states that the plot centers on a seemingly isolated murder in the American heartland, specifically Nebraska. This local crime will draw the veteran Green Lantern Corps member Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and his new recruit, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), into deeper, more sinister revelations.
Before the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger in April 2022, HBO was developing a Green Lantern series focused on Alan Scott and Guy Gardner, with Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Seth Grahame-Smith leading the creative team.
Finn Wittrock was cast to play Guy Gardner.
However, after James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed as co-chairs and co-CEOs of the newly established DC Studios, the project underwent significant changes.
The series was revamped to spotlight Hal Jordan and John Stewart as the main Green Lanterns, shifting the direction to align with the new leadership’s vision.