Despite critical acclaim and strong viewership numbers, Lanterns has yet to be officially renewed for a second season.
A new writing team has been assembled in anticipation of the greenlight - Chris Mundy is expected to return as showrunner, without writers Damon Lindelof and Tom King; Vanessa Baden Kelly will be back, along with new scribes Christopher Cantwell, Nakkiah Lui, Zack Whedon, and Selwyn Seyfu Hinds - but it sounds like the show continuing for another run is far from guaranteed.
"This was one great season of television based on a property that had been somewhat irradiated since 2011, right?" DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran told Collider when asked for an update. "The thing that's most gratifying about this show and this season on HBO is that it's brought Green Lantern back into the conversation, into the public culture in a really positive fashion."
He added: "If we're able to come up with what we believe to be a worthy successor to a beloved and great first season, that's what's going to dictate whether there's a second season."
Safran also said that we should know whether or not Lanterns will return by the end of the year.
Mundy recently revealed that some ideas for a second season have been discussed, and it sounds like, if the show is renewed, Lanterns will continue to be a primarily Earth-based series.
"It’s like we’ve tossed out a lot of different things. I mean, again, we want to treat it all—you know, we won’t be back in Rushville most likely unless something crazy happens in Rushville, you know, every 10 years. But you’re going to—it’s going to be an Earth-based story that we continue most likely."
"I mean, would you—we’ve shown that you can leave the planet, so that’s good, right?" he added. "But because of that, we want to make whoever’s here as sort of grounded and real as possible. Our idea was just to ground everything and then layer on the other layers." The writer continued, "But it’s just like, okay, are you with us? Great. Now we can expand. And it’s the same thing with introducing all the other Lanterns and stuff."
Even if the series isn't renewed, John Stewart's (Aaron Pierre) adventures will continue in Man of Tomorrow, but what about Hal Jordan?
Safran was asked if John charging the ring in the finale means that final shot of Halogram is the last we'll see of the veteran hero, and gave an intriquing response.
"I can't weigh in on what it means when [John] charges the ring at the end of the season"
Would you like to see more Lanterns? Let us know in the comments.
HBO in association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios. The pilot episode is co-written by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, who are co-creators for the series. Mundy serves as showrunner. The first two episodes are directed by James Hawes, with Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Alik Sakharov also tapped to direct. The series is executive produced by Mundy, Lindelof, James Gunn, Peter Safran, King, Ron Schmidt, and Hawes. Based on the DC comic characters from Green Lantern.
The series stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Nathan Fillion, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Jasmine Cephas Jones.
The series follows new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Lantern legend Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.