LANTERNS' Villain Possibly Revealed...And They May End Up Being The DCU's Big Bad - Possible SPOILERS

LANTERNS' Villain Possibly Revealed...And They May End Up Being The DCU's Big Bad - Possible SPOILERS

There are rumblings online that Lanterns' villain is The Circle, a character from Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier who may end up being the DCU's big bad. Find more details on plans for the villain here...

By JoshWilding - Nov 05, 2024 09:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Lanterns

Lanterns has assembled an impressive cast which so far includes Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan, Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, Garret Dillahunt, and Kelly Macdonald. 

Chandler is reportedly signed up for only this series and no movies, suggesting Lanterns will be where Hal's story ends in the DCU. However, given the threat he and John could face in the show, that's starting to make sense. 

You'll recall that, when the HBO series was announced, Gunn said it "leads into the overall story that we're telling throughout the different movies and television shows. And we find this Ancient Horror on Earth. And these guys are basically, you know, super cops on precinct Earth."

When Dillahunt was cast in Lanterns, it was reported that he'll play, "a self-righteous, conspiracy-minded man who masks his ruthless ambition behind a charming and calculated façade."

That led to speculation online about the villainous Centre - a villain rumoured to be the DCU's big bad - and the fact it has a cult of followers on Earth. Scooper Daniel Richtman hinted they might be on to something, and we're also hearing that this could be where the villain makes his DCU debut. It's also worth noting that, in the comics, Hal is the one who ultimately defeats the villain.

It's looking increasingly likely then that Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier will be what inspires this slate. That story played out in a period setting, but saw the League reluctantly come together to battle the villain known as The Centre. 

Born in the core of the Earth, this monstrous being had been observing activity on the surface for millions of years through telepathy. Upon viewing the growth of humanity and its potential to replicate the destructive force that killed all the dinosaurs, the Centre decides to wipe them out, and seems like exactly the sort of weird villain Gunn is drawn to. 

It's previously been reported that The Centre is expected to make its presence felt throughout several projects, including Creature Commandos and The Authority. The villain is also known as Dinosaur Island and creates monstrous dinosaur-like creatures to battle the League.

Superman reportedly includes a Kaiju, so it's possible this villain will be seeded throughout every DCU project in the build-up to the Justice League eventually assembling. 

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). 

Lanterns doesn't currently have a confirmed premiere date.

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Forthas
Forthas - 11/5/2024, 9:18 AM
"Born in the core of the Earth"

"...monstrous being had been observing activity on the surface for millions of years"

"Upon viewing the growth of humanity...decides to wipe them out"

Yeah! I saw this movie! It is called Eternals!

lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/5/2024, 9:28 AM
@Forthas - keep b1tching. Because, you know.... everyone loves that
Forthas
Forthas - 11/5/2024, 9:31 AM
@lazlodaytona -

User Comment Image
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 11/5/2024, 10:36 AM
@Forthas - Closer to Noah's Ark
Forthas
Forthas - 11/5/2024, 10:44 AM
@Clintthahamster - I don't see it. Say more...
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 11/5/2024, 11:00 AM
@Forthas - Neither is an exact fit, tbh. The flood narrative is about a powerful being who, "Upon viewing the growth of humanity...decides to wipe them out."

Eternals are about a powerful being born in the core of the earth who is predestined to destroy the earth once it reaches a certain population density.

Humans have been telling stories for tens of thousands of years. There are recurrent themes and tropes that are interwoven throughout.
SummersEssex
SummersEssex - 11/5/2024, 11:11 AM
@Forthas - yeah... no.
killadeathray
killadeathray - 11/5/2024, 9:22 AM
Is it “The Circle” or “The Centre”? Literally the first sentence of the article has a major gaffe with regards to the villain’s name.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 11/5/2024, 9:24 AM
I'm already kinda expecting the mystery the Lanterns are inspecting to tie into the larger story of Chapter 1, so this tracks. I do think it'll be a better known villain though (Mongul?)
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/5/2024, 9:30 AM
@bkmeijer1 - I'm completely with you. I'd love to see Mongul live but we need to see Sinestro first for sure. Because, I wanna see the "Sinestro Corp Wars" wars played out on the big screen!
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 11/5/2024, 11:13 AM
@lazlodaytona - I kinda wanna see that later, as it sets up Blackest Night. And that's a cross-over I wanna see as well (in Chapter 2 or 3).
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/5/2024, 9:28 AM
This would tie directly back to The Suicide Squad, since Starro is basically The Centre.

It's also Dinosaur Island which has connections with Task Force X and earlier Suicide Squad-esque teams like The Losers.
CaptainDC
CaptainDC - 11/5/2024, 9:30 AM
If Hal Jordan is one-and-done in the DCU I will be livid.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/5/2024, 9:34 AM
@CaptainDC - I agree. I am beyond flabbergasted on who they cast as Hal. I don't get it. Are they still frightened from the 2011 film so they don't move forward with Hal after this series?!

Look, I trust Gunn but this move seems completely outta left field.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/5/2024, 9:50 AM
@CaptainDC - You're not thinking 4-Dimensionally, Marty!

If he dies in Lanterns, there's all that time before Lanterns where he was alive and Green Lantern.
RedFury
RedFury - 11/5/2024, 9:50 AM
@lazlodaytona - I have an inkling of a feeling that Gunn's casting so far has been partially due to budgetary reasons. He's been snagging some very good, but not super costly talent for a lot of characters. And with WB taking a lot of financial losses, I wouldn't doubt that he's been told to keep the offers reasonable, and that probably stops certain talent from signing onto these projects.

He's proven before he can take actors that were on the edge of success and make them huge names. So this is the vibe I'm kind of picking up on now that we've seen this trend of casting on multiple upcoming DCU projects. Truly just a wild hunch though haha
Arthorious
Arthorious - 11/5/2024, 9:56 AM
@CaptainDC - yup if they kill him off or have him fly off to never be seen again, it would be a massive loss and huge mistake. I like John, but Hal is the best
Arthorious
Arthorious - 11/5/2024, 9:59 AM
@lazlodaytona - what they could do is have the show revolve around John, Hal, and I guess Guy (would prefer Kyle, but hey). Then that way Hal gets exposure while they can still have some stories about John.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/5/2024, 10:01 AM
@RedFury - It's the only excusable reason for not going with Tom Cruise as an elder statesman Hal Jordan.
RedFury
RedFury - 11/5/2024, 10:21 AM
@ObserverIO - he really would have been perfect as an older Hal. And the meta Top Gun relation in terms of character types makes it even more perfect for him.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 11/5/2024, 9:40 AM
um, Dillahunt ..... I'll watch anything he's in. From being a Terminator in the Sarah Chronicles, to a hilarious cop in "Just Before I Go." (A highly underrated movie), to Raising Hope and Sprung.....

This dudes the master at everything he does. I love him as a character actor.

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HermanM
HermanM - 11/5/2024, 9:42 AM
New Frontier was a great JLA origin and the Centre or Starro or the white martians as bad guys are a great idea for a JLA origin film since they are like large forces of nature that don't need much focus for character development, just some exposition, like the aliens in Independence Day, which will allow the story focus to be better spread across covering the dynamics and chemistry of the different superheroes working together as a team.

For follow up stories, once the team dynamic is established, they can focus on new villains who must have time spend for introduction and proper development (Darkseid, Legion Of Doom, etc).
HermanM
HermanM - 11/5/2024, 9:44 AM
The first Avengers film got by with Loki as the villain because he was already established in Thor. Age of Ultron already had the team dynamic established, and by Infinity War, they were able to focus on Thanos, something that wouldn't have been possible without the previous Avengers movies already establishing the team.
MisterBones
MisterBones - 11/5/2024, 9:42 AM
Using Cooke as inspiration is a WIN
DocSpock
DocSpock - 11/5/2024, 10:13 AM

Hal Jordan is one of the most important characters in the DC universe.

If all he gets is only a TV show and is gone, that is horrible.

We understand that John Stewart is one of their few good black characters, but he and Hal Jordan should both hit the big screen in a big way.

Chandler is a good character actor, but they needed an RDJ/Chris Evans/Bendy GumbySnatch level Hal Jordan. If true, this SUCKSSSS!!!!!!


HermanM
HermanM - 11/5/2024, 10:21 AM
@DocSpock - Is John Stewart really a great character tho? The best of him was in JL/JLU, where he was one of several distinct personalities on a team, where attention was divided up into several areas.

On his own, he is a bore. What is he other than the black Lantern?

Hal has all of the best story stuff, the best villains, the best origin, all of the iconography.

Guy had all of the personality.

Kyle was cool because he was the last and only GL, so his stories had a totally different dynamic.

But what the hell is John other than a token? He only works on a JL team dynamic where he doesn't have to carry things exclusively or mostly, in my opinion.
Odekahn
Odekahn - 11/5/2024, 10:30 AM
@HermanM - it was even stated that the reason he was in JL/JLU was because he was black.

I don’t mind having diversity in teams, but it was forced diversity and excluded my favorite character in any medium so that one in particular is extra disappointing.
HermanM
HermanM - 11/5/2024, 10:50 AM
@Odekahn - yeah, Timm outright said he is on the team for tokenism reasons, except he used more flowery language.

The team was already diverse, even if the characters are mostly white.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 11/5/2024, 10:56 AM
@HermanM -

That is somewhat true.

But the comics got it right from the start with him.

He came along when both comic companies were trying hard to invent black characters.

Marvel: Black Panther was very well handled and added a great new corner of the Marvel world. Massive thumbs up. Then came storm. Excellent character that has grown in importance over the years.

DC: Black Lightning was a poorly written terrible character that failed miserably. Then came John Stewart who became outstanding during the Neal Adam’s era. He grew well beyond any token status he may have begun with.

Stewart is very good New DCU addition. But Hal Jordan is an icon standing with Superman and Batman as the most important heroes in DC comics.
Odekahn
Odekahn - 11/5/2024, 10:22 AM
“ It's also worth noting that, in the comics, Hal is the one who ultimately defeats the villain.”

So…. Hal dies in battle and John defeats the villain and becomes the main GL of the DCU. He gets Hal’s story like Rey got Luke’s for DEI reasons.

If that’s the way it happens, and Hal dies, so does my interest in the DCU.
Spoken
Spoken - 11/5/2024, 10:29 AM
@Odekahn - The quote you used has nothing to do with what your implying though, so idk how one can come to the conclusion of that when all what was said was "It's also worth noting that, in the comics, Hal is the one who ultimately defeats the villain.”
Odekahn
Odekahn - 11/5/2024, 10:32 AM
@Spoken - I’m just speculating based on Chandler only being signed on for this project. I’m not saying it as an absolute. That’s why I ended with “IF that’s the way it happens”
Spoken
Spoken - 11/5/2024, 10:36 AM
@Odekahn - That's a pretty wild speculation.......that makes no sense....
Odekahn
Odekahn - 11/5/2024, 11:15 AM
@Spoken - I don’t think it’s too far fetched unfortunately, but I agree it wouldn’t make any sense and I sincerely hope I’m wrong.
PapaBear562
PapaBear562 - 11/5/2024, 10:40 AM
The more I hear of Gunn's vision for the DCU, the more I feel like it's gonna be a disaster.

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