>Of all the heroes in the pantheon of DC Comics, the Green Lanterns are more fantastical than most of their peers. That’s courtesy of their power rings, a perk of entering the Green Lantern Corps., the intergalactic policing organization that protects sectors of the cosmos. >Fueled by the green energy of will, the alien bling allows its bearer to summon virtually anything they can imagine into existence. Need to catch a falling civilian in a giant baseball mitt? Want to suit up inside a glowing green Gundam-style battle bot? Power blasts, force fields, armor, weapons, constructs — it’s all on the table. >“It's the power of creativity to a certain extent. You're thinking on the fly,” Chris Mundy, the showrunner behind HBO and DC Studios’ upcoming Lanterns drama, tells Entertainment Weekly. “It's the power of whatever your brain decides will solve the thing in front of you. So we try to have fun with that. There are times where we use it as a funny thing in the middle of a situation and then there are times where we use it [practically].”>It’s what makes the specific vision for the new prestige drama so intriguing. You can’t get more intergalactic than the Lanterns, yet Lanterns, the series, is a very grounded Earth-based mystery in the style of True Detective. Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) and Aaron Pierre (Mufasa: The Lion King) star as two of these heroes, veteran Hal Jordan and newbie John Stewart, who investigate a crime in Nebraska. >Basically, Mundy & co. — including fellow co-creators Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, Lost) and Tom King (comics scribe) — gave the so-called "space cops" of the DC universe their own cop show.
>“We wanted to tell an on-the-ground story, and that has a couple of different mysteries inside of it,” Mundy explains. “What we have going for us is that it's a Green Lantern story. They can conjure anything from the ring. They do go off the planet. There's all these other powers that they have. We wanna use everything that's great about the mythology of the Green Lanterns, but at the same time, we wanted it to feel like an upscale mystery, a very emotionally tangible story about these people that are in it.”>That story begins in 2016, when a shooting occurs in the small rural town of Rushville, Neb. Hal Jordan, who has been keeping tabs on the town from afar for quite a while, is convinced it's an alien incident. However, the local authority, Sheriff Kerry (Kelly Macdonald), finds no evidence to support that assertion.>"There's a familiar tension just in terms of jurisdiction," Mundy describes. "It's not like F.B.I. and locals. It's the Lantern Corps. and a local sheriff. That's our entry into that town and into the mystery." >Hal is forced to bring along John Stewart, the new Earth-bound Lantern recruit he still reluctantly mentors two months in. John remains a constant source of ire for Hal due to the fact that he is an anomaly. >In the history of the Corps., the ring always chooses the Lantern. Those are the rules. It's how Hal got the job in the first place. There was never meant to be a Green Lantern of Earth, Mundy says, but after one of their members, Abin Sur, fatally crash landed on the planet, the alien's ring was drawn to this former pilot to be its new bearer. >John's recruitment, however, marks the first time the Guardians of the Universe, the very founders of the Corps. itself, intervened to self-anoint a member of their order. They felt they had just cause.
>Back when Hal was a recruit, he was mentored by a veteran Lantern named Thaal Sinestro. Fans know the character's story well from the pages of DC comics: The once-storied member of the Corps. went rogue and became consumed by the more corrupt yellow energy of fear. Ulrich Thomsen portrays Sinestro on the HBO drama, but Mundy plays coy about whether he is the big bad of season 1. >"Obviously in the canon, Sinestro's the big bad," he prefaces. "The thing that interests us is this idea [that] Hal was trained by Sinestro, Hal is training John. In the coaching tree, we're very interested in what gets passed on, what doesn't, how much is human nature. We talked a lot about programming and parenting and training...What did Hal take away from Sinestro that was good or bad? It brings up a lot of interesting worries.">The main worry being that Hal is now forced to train his own replacement. John is the backup Lantern in the event anything happens to Hal. It’s “the old guard and the heir apparent,” Mundy notes. "We lean into that tension quite a bit in that early time period.” >No, Mundy didn't slip up. There are two timelines in season 1 of Lanterns. The drama unfolds between the 2016 setting involving the shooting in Rushville and 10 years later “to something else” in 2026, the showrunner teases.>"That becomes a second mystery that we know is down the road for us,” he continues. “So eventually two different mysteries get worked out over the course of the show." >Going back to the True Detective reference, Mundy explains how the dueling timelines of Lanterns “create emotional mysteries.” Referring to that Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson season, in particular, he says, "It was less of a whodunnit as much as like, what happened and why? We think of this as a relationship show between John and Hal, and there's a lot to unpack over the course of the eight episodes."
>Within the 10-year gap between the timelines are the events of last summer's Superman movie, which introduced Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) as the Green Lantern of Earth's sector. Mundy confirms Guy, whom he describes as "fabulously obnoxious," will "be in the show a few different times.">"There are a bunch of other people from the mythology, from the canon, but not the other Lanterns," he notes. "We talk about them at different times, but they're not gonna interact with them in the course of this season.">Lanterns is designed as a multi-season show, should they get the opportunity to do more, so more Lantern pop-ins could be in the cards down the line. "I'd be totally bluffing if I said I could tell you the last thing of the endgame," Mundy adds.>But so far, the mashup of the cosmic with the Earthly is working out well, at least behind the scenes. According to Mundy, the visual effects will lean toward the "medium-to-low side," though "there's plenty in it." He says, "There are a couple episodes where they're incredibly heavy, but from the jump, it's a much more boots-on-the-ground approach.">One thing he makes clear: "It's a Green Lantern show, so there's green.">It's in reference to a so-called "controversy" that was blown out of proportion on the internet due to a general lack of green in the early marketing for Lanterns. After Lindelof addressed a past joke that was making the rounds, Mundy further helps level-set the matter.>"The aesthetic of the show — it's supposed to be very grounded and real, so we're shooting practically in places," he says. "We're not heavily green-screened. It's not like day glow in its presentation of anything. I think Green Lantern fans will not feel like we've somehow made a brown show of their green comic at all. It's very much 'we're in the world,' and then when we use the constructs, they're what people would expect them to be."
>Mundy acknowledges how part of being a fan involves guessing what the show is going to be, though he feels some of the worry is based on preconceived notions of what they think it is.>"We could have put out a trailer that was tremendously green," he continues. "So the fact that people are talking about it just means, to me, that they're excited about the show. We have a lot of respect for the source material, otherwise we wouldn't be doing this show. I think when people see it, it won't be a controversy."https://ew.com/lanterns-dc-space-cops-drama-dueling-timelines-exclusive-11971022
>>153676728>including fellow co-creators Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, Lost) and Tom King (comics scribe)Yeah. Nah.
>>153676859Watchmen was as good as it was woke.
>>153676798>two time periodsThat adds a lot of context to the trailer.
>>153676728>yet Lanterns, the series, is a very grounded Earth-based mystery in the style of True Detective
>>153676728>alien blingI fucking hate James Gunn with all of my soul.
>>153676798>space cop with superpowers has to deal with a bumfuck sheriffwhat the fuck were they thinking
>>153678397This, he's trash.
Would it kill anyone on the goddamn marketing team to show ONE alien or fucking uniform?
>>153678438They cop to it, they want to have written True Detective.A lot of directors and writers these days don't have any ideas of their own, they see something they like, something creatively inspiring even, but rather than going from there and adding to the arts they just trace over popular thing and sign their name on it. Since it succeeds with audiences unfamiliar with the original thing they're seldom punished for their creative bankruptcy and laziness.There's even some smug quote about it.You could also throw in something here about being embarrassed about superhero comics, but really they just could not make a GL show if that was the case. I doubt James is holding a firearm to their head.
>>153678438>>153678529I think they're abusing the GL rule of "Lanterns cannot interfere with local planet issues". It's possible that Hal is being cockblocked by The Guardians, and has to find probable cause of an alien presence breaking galactic law before he can just ring sling everything. However if the issue is simply going by the sheriff's lead, then that's bullshit. If they both see an alien, Hal should immediately suit up and not have to listen to some bumfuck nobody
>>153678526This piece of shit is the only thing we've seen even so far, besides the ring and the power battery, the latter of which looks like it was picked up at a Goodwill store and painted green.
>>153677334>Watchmen was as bad as it was wokeftfy
>>153676812>>"There are a bunch of other people from the mythology, from the canon, but not the other LanternsOh great I've been wondering when fucking Pieface shows up
>season 2 ends with the introduction of G'nort
>>153678574Is this a camera filter issue? The DCU wasn't afraid of bright colors before
>>153678566Fair, with how Sinestro went I can see justification for restrained intervention protocol, but logically if there was a hidden threat while a GL was planetside and they were caught lacking it will go no different than Abin Sur. An equator line made from dead GL recruits.If this was a Martian Manhunter show, blending in would make sense, but Hal and John getting involved undisguised with safeties on just seems like some kinda Suicide Squad.Also this is taking place in the universe where Guy got involved with Earth politics unphased, that may be used to bluff the new rules but it's not like stopping Luthor was some horrible violation of Earth law.
>damage control mode
>>153678773>Also this is taking place in the universe where Guy got involved with Earth politics unphased, that may be used to bluff the new rules but it's not like stopping Luthor was some horrible violation of Earth law.I'm working off the theory that Guy is suspended, and he's stuck on Earth forced to prove to the Guardians that he can be a team player. That's why he's doing the Lord Tech shit, because he has to, and he hates it. A consistent thing in Guy's character is that he gets stir crazy on Earth, and wants to be out in the universe doing shit that matters. He's basically a mall cop in Superman, or at least that's how he sees himself.Or the showrunners are stupid, we'll see
>>153678694Green is considered an unlucky color in Hollywood, it is the reason for why it was dropped from Arrow's title.
>>153678391Yeah. I mean, of all the characters of the DCU, why would you pick the fucking Green Lanterns for that shit?You know who would be fucking amazing for a True Detective style story? The Question! Use the fucking dyke one, if you have to, just don't shit on Vic when you do it. There's all kinds of characters at the street level who're well suited to True Detective style shit.
>>153676798John Stewart is literally a diversity hire in this version lol
>>153678391>>153679195>>153676798>They do go off the planet.Guess you stopped reading.
>>153678397>>153678449>entertainment weekly saying something is gunn's faultKek the lengths people are going to hate Gunn is so funny.
>>153678585You seriously think it wasn't woke?
>>153679694I dislike him for many more reasons than some dumb article.
>>153676728>Still no Green Lantern suit. Gunn really hates the source material, doesn't he?
>>153678574>The suit isn't a Green Lantern construct, just some piece of cloth hanging in an abandoned closet >The green is replaced by brown
>>153676728Exciting!
>>153679195>Why are they using a well known IP instead of this obscure one??????
With lindlof and king it was never going to be good
>>153681055But it didn't have to be complete dogshit either...but here we are.
>>153681055>>153681062At least wait until the first episode is out before trolling.
>>153679392>In this versionHe's basically THE diversity hire black guy character
Why didn't they come out with all of this information with the trailer instead of having everyone be pissed off?
>>153682042>why doesn’t a teaser trailer explain everything in a mystery show??????
