UPDATE: Lanterns Comic-Con Trailer Features Sinestro, Manhunters, And Epic Cosmic Action

UPDATE: Lanterns Comic-Con Trailer Features Sinestro, Manhunters, And Epic Cosmic Action

HBO has released the official trailer for DC Studios' Lanterns, and if previous sneak peeks didn't sell you on the series, then this three-minute preview should get you a whole lot more excited.

By JoshWilding - Jul 25, 2026 03:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Lanterns

UPDATE: While they haven't been released (or leaked), The Wrap has revealed details about three new Lanterns clips shown in Hall H. The footage began with Hal Jordan picking up John Stewart in his car and questioning why John hasn't asked where he's been. Following a tense exchange between the pair, Hal hands over the Green Lantern ring and instructs John to meet him at a taco stand a few miles away.

Hal then casually jumps out of the moving vehicle, leaving John to figure out how to survive as the car hurtles towards the edge of a cliff.

The next scene sees John arrive at the taco stand, where Hal is busy taking selfies with fans. A young child mentions that their mother misses seeing him in his Green Lantern costume, prompting Hal to reply that he still wears it for special occasions. Hal then asks John what construct he came up with to save himself. John's answer? Bubble wrap.

The next scene puts the spotlight on Sinestro. Beginning with Hal suited up as Green Lantern, the hero visits Sinestro in the Sciencells in the hope of learning more about the Manhunters. Sinestro warns him that, if the Manhunters are still out there, they would only be the second biggest threat he faces. The biggest is John.

Hal responds by admitting that he now understands John is being trained to replace him. He later returns to his motel room, where he begins reciting the Green Lantern oath while recharging his power ring. Before he can complete it, John bursts in, and the two engage in a brutal fight. The clip ends with John choking Hal as an ominous red light begins to glow outside.


HBO Max has unveiled the official trailer for DC Studios' Lanterns during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con featuring stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, and co-creators Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King. 

Previous trailers were somewhat lacking, but there's plenty of Green Lantern action in this sneak peek, with some cosmic, mind-bending imagery and a trip into outer space for a meeting between Hal Jordan and the imprisoned Sinestro.

The biggest reveal here is that Hal and John Stewart will be facing off with the Manhunters. In the comics, they were the Guardians of the Universe's first attempt at creating an interstellar police force that could combat evil all over the cosmos.

However, this trailer makes a point of describing them as shapeshifters, leading many fans to wonder whether there's a connection between them and Mars' shapeshifting Martians. Does this link them to J'onn J'onzz, a.k.a. Martian "Manhunter," or have they just been reimagined for the DCU? We'll find out next month, but it certainly doesn't look like they're robots here.

There's still no obvious sign of the show's 2026 timeline, and with Hal aware that John is his replacement, it's hard to shake the feeling that we're about to see the Green Lantern Corps veteran perhaps head down the same villainous path as his comic book counterpart. 

Kyle Chandler recently told Entertainment Weekly that he's been speaking to "Green Lantern historians" to prepare for Lanterns, noting, "I’ll tell you what, you can find them everywhere. You can find them in bars, you can find them in restaurants. All your friends that you never knew were Green Lantern historians, they come out of the woodwork."

Check out the new Lanterns trailer in the players below.

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 pilot 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.

Lanterns is executive produced by Mundy, Lindelof, James Gunn, Peter Safran, King, Ron Schmidt, and Hawes, and is based on the DC comic characters from Green Lantern.

Lanterns is set to premiere on HBO on August 16.

About The Author:
JoshWilding
Member Since 3/13/2009
A lifelong comic book fan who grew up on Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the '90s, Josh Wilding has been contributing to ComicBookMovie.com since 2009.

While he's also written for websites like Batman-News, HeyUGuys, and WhatCulture, Josh is CBM's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and the site's #1 contributor with nearly two decades of experience covering film and TV news (including interviews with Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Gary Oldman, Halle Berry, Jon Bernthal, Tom Welling, and hundreds more).

Based in the UK with his wife, Josh is also an avid WWE and Formula 1 fan and writes about those passions on CBM's sister sites, TheRingReport.com and FullThrottleHQ.com. Favourite superhero? Spider-Man. Favourite pro wrestler? CM Punk. Favourite F1 driver? Max Verstappen.
Lanterns Funko POPs Reveal First Look At Sinestro And Hal Jordan Fully Suited-Up
Related:

Lanterns Funko POPs Reveal First Look At Sinestro And Hal Jordan Fully Suited-Up

Lanterns Trailer Teaser Reveals New Costumed Action As More Story Details Are Revealed
Recommended For You:

Lanterns Trailer Teaser Reveals New Costumed Action As More Story Details Are Revealed

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2 3 4
MikeyL
MikeyL - 7/24/2026, 4:57 PM
I still feel absolutely nothing watching trailers for this show. They might be saving all of the good stuff for the actual show, but nothing is making me want to even watch it to potentially see the good shit
SwampThingDC
SwampThingDC - 7/24/2026, 5:33 PM
@MikeyL - Nobody cares. Go watch your boring Marvel kiddie trash movies.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 7/24/2026, 6:06 PM
@MikeyL - apparently you got your "happy place" chopped off in a tragic bass fishing accident and you can feel no stimuli in a man's most important organ.
Amaru
Amaru - 7/24/2026, 8:22 PM
@SwampThingDC - You're just as bad as him. Shut up bitch.
Lokiwasright
Lokiwasright - 7/24/2026, 9:56 PM
@MikeyL - stop complaining all you do is complain.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 7/25/2026, 3:28 AM
@SwampThingDC - Right… cause Superman and Supergirl were so deep and mature lol Your argument loses all credibility when you start insulting the other person
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/25/2026, 3:36 AM
@MikeyL - meanwhile here I am thinking this looks like the dopest comic adaptation in years. Holy shit this trailer alaps.
InfinitePunches
InfinitePunches - 7/24/2026, 4:57 PM
Looking forward to the Sinestro cameo.

Weird that they think Manhunters can shapeshift. I guess they got it mixed up with Martian Manhunter.

Depending on how things shake out with the merger, season two could still course correct with the Rebirth story. Maybe with different showrunners. Not sure if they'd have the stones to make Hal the Spectre though.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 7/24/2026, 5:05 PM
@InfinitePunches - It's even got the Martian's straps + Gunns awfull baggy costume fetish.
User Comment Image
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 7/24/2026, 5:10 PM
@HashTagSwagg - the Manhunters were modelled on the Martian Manhunters.

J'onn is simply the last one.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 7/24/2026, 5:11 PM
@InfinitePunches - Weird that they think Manhunters can shapeshift. I guess they got it mixed up with Martian Manhunter.
It’s like they placed a bet with Feige on who could do a worse version of Secret Invasion.
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 7/24/2026, 5:12 PM
@HashTagSwagg - the costumes being clothing instead of skinsuits though? That's all Gunn...
InfinitePunches
InfinitePunches - 7/24/2026, 5:17 PM
@soberchimera - And we already did DC's secret invasion in season one of peacemaker!!
soberchimera
soberchimera - 7/24/2026, 5:17 PM
@UltimaRex - Didn’t know that, but confirmed on wikipedia. My only reference to them is from Geoff Johns’ run, GL: Earth One, and the JL cartoon and they never shapeshifted in those.
SeeYouIn2036
SeeYouIn2036 - 7/24/2026, 5:18 PM
@soberchimera - They've never shapeshifted in any version. The AI writing the script got it conflated.
SeeYouIn2036
SeeYouIn2036 - 7/24/2026, 5:22 PM
@UltimaRex - The Guardians were inspired to make a police force modeled after the Martian Manhunters, yes. But they never shape shifted. They just added that in this version so they don't have to spend money on CGI. Like how every alien on the CW Supergirl show just looks like a normal person with ridges on their nose or something else cheap.
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 7/24/2026, 5:34 PM
@SeeYouIn2036 - eh. At least J'onn will be slightly easier to explain later...
SwampThingDC
SwampThingDC - 7/24/2026, 5:35 PM
@soberchimera - All the Marvel movies are complete, kiddie trash though. All the DC movies are superior.
lazlodaytona
lazlodaytona - 7/24/2026, 6:09 PM
@InfinitePunches - I'm looking forward to seeing Sinestro too but you can't be the casting of Mark Strong. Only good thing about that movie, but it was perfect casting.
Bucky74
Bucky74 - 7/24/2026, 6:42 PM
@UltimaRex - Gunn really needs to fire his costume designer
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 7/24/2026, 7:20 PM
@Bucky74 - eh. I don't mind it as much. It kinda ties into the Giffen era JL aesthetic Gunn was going for.

Also, pretty certain Gunn tells the designers to do that so you can't blame them.

Now, if this were forever? Then I'd be less favourable. But it's only until 2036. If I can survive 10 years of smallvile, you can get through this no problem...
InfinitePunches
InfinitePunches - 7/24/2026, 8:24 PM
@lazlodaytona - Credit where credit is due: stellar performances by Mark Strong, Temuera Morrison, Peter Sarsgaard, Angela Bassett, Geoffery Rush, Clancy Brown, and Tim Robbins. Absolutely incredible designs for the alien Lanterns. (Genuinely go look at some of the creative ways that they adapted and redesigned some of the lesser known Lanterns like Galius Zed and Larvox.) Great look for Oa. Good score. Well-paced. Great characterization on Sinestro, Kilowog, and the Guardians.

Outside of a couple bad performances and a cloud villain, it's not nearly as bad as I remembered it being.
RedFury
RedFury - 7/24/2026, 4:57 PM
Seriously can't wait for this; Chandler is looking like he's going to be such a great Hal.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 7/24/2026, 4:59 PM
@RedFury - he seems to have nailed it

That little smirk at the end as he pops open his beer was perfect.
RedFury
RedFury - 7/24/2026, 5:01 PM
@TheVisionary25 - hahah I know right? The snark, and attitude feels great for an older Hal who's seen his fair share.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 7/24/2026, 5:11 PM
@RedFury - agreed!!.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/25/2026, 3:39 AM
@RedFury - he's so good I'm worried they kill him at the end and ruin it.
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 7/24/2026, 4:58 PM
Much, MUCH better.

Also, don't believe Hal is going to die. They are overselling it. I think the season will see Hal alive.

Maybe not well, but alive...

See you in 2036.
SeeYouIn2036
SeeYouIn2036 - 7/24/2026, 5:11 PM
@UltimaRex - Now this is a wild guess because I can't see the future... But I think they'll do a death fakeout in episode one, reveal him as alive and as Parallax in episode six, and then kill him in episode eight, either doing the Zero Hour version where he's shot by Oliver (or in this case John), or the Final Night version where Hal sacrifices himself to restart the sun.
UltimaRex
UltimaRex - 7/24/2026, 5:20 PM
@SeeYouIn2036 - they'll probably want to spread it out over seasons lol.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/25/2026, 3:40 AM
@UltimaRex - God i hope man. I hope Gunn realizes you can have John without forcibly killing Hal after one season of television. Especially given how great the performance appears to potentially be.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/25/2026, 3:40 AM
@SeeYouIn2036 - this isn't a wild guess. It's just a dumb one. The dude isn't fake dying in episode one bro.
SeeYouIn2036
SeeYouIn2036 - 7/24/2026, 5:00 PM
So the Manhunters and aliens just look like normal civilians wearing regular clothes? I bet that saves a ton on budget.
Lokiwasright
Lokiwasright - 7/24/2026, 9:58 PM
@SeeYouIn2036 - go grab your hammer and go cry in a corner.
IronGenesis
IronGenesis - 7/24/2026, 5:03 PM
Bang!
soberchimera
soberchimera - 7/24/2026, 5:04 PM
So Manhunters are just Skrulls now? There’s already a shapeshifting species in the DC universe called the Durlans they could’ve just used instead. They were literally in the most recent GL run.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/25/2026, 3:41 AM
@soberchimera - clearly intended as a vehicle to introduce Jonn.
Super12
Super12 - 7/24/2026, 5:05 PM
I sat up in my chair the moment they said Manhunters. Ok now that's interesting...

I'm loving a lot of it, but the biggest downer is why John has to be Hal's replacement. Because Guy Gardner's right there so there's obviously more than one GL per sector. Why can't we have both?
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/25/2026, 3:43 AM
@Super12 - my hope is that it's for dramatic purposes and he doesn't actually get killed off at the end but jist passes the baton for now. And then comes back ala Steve Rogers in Doomsday-ish.
rebellion
rebellion - 7/24/2026, 5:05 PM
i like it better than the last one but still not sold
1 2 3 4

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

View Recorder