James Gunn Releases First Five Minutes of ‘Lanterns’ Ahead of Its Sunday Premiere

James Gunn’s DC Universe has spent three years building anticipation for a Green Lantern reboot that trades cosmic spectacle for something considerably more grounded, and the wait is nearly over. ‘Lanterns‘ arrives as the fifth entry in Gunn and Peter Safran’s shared universe, following ‘Creature Commandos,’ ‘Superman,’ ‘Peacemaker,’ and ‘Supergirl,’ and marks the third HBO series to join that expanding slate.

The show has taken an unconventional approach to its central pairing, casting Kyle Chandler as veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, the new recruit training under him. Created by Chris Mundy of ‘Ozark,’ alongside Damon Lindelof and comic writer Tom King, the series has been positioned less as a traditional superhero show and more as a gritty detective drama centered on a murder investigation in the American heartland.

That framing carries directly into the newly released footage. James Gunn has shared the first five minutes of ‘Lanterns’ on social media ahead of its premiere, confirming the episode drops this Sunday, August 16, at 9 p.m. on HBO Max. The clip opens with a title card reading 1996 before shifting into a flashback showing a young John Stewart watching a news report about Hal Jordan’s rise as Earth’s first Green Lantern.

From there, the footage takes an unexpected turn, showing John’s father, played in the flashback by J. Alphonse Nicholson, arriving home in military uniform. He asks his son whether he’s afraid, then shoots an apple clean off the top of John’s head to test the boy’s resolve, immediately establishing a tense family dynamic well before the character’s superhero destiny takes shape.

The extended clip then jumps forward to show grown-up John Stewart getting into a car alongside an older Hal Jordan, setting the stage for the show’s central investigative partnership. According to the show’s official premise, the two Lanterns are drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the heartland, a case Jordan believes carries extraterrestrial origins that lead the pair toward darker revelations.

That tone has drawn frequent comparisons to prestige HBO dramas like ‘True Detective,’ a fitting parallel given the network has slotted ‘Lanterns’ into its prized Sunday night programming block, historically reserved for shows like ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘The Sopranos.’ The series also carries significant weight for the broader DCU following the disappointing critical and box office reception of ‘Supergirl,’ putting extra pressure on ‘Lanterns’ to help stabilize confidence in Gunn and Safran’s shared universe going forward.

The ensemble surrounding Chandler and Pierre includes Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, Nicole Ari Parker, Jason Ritter, and Nathan Fillion reprising his Guy Gardner role from ‘Superman.’ James Hawes directed the first two episodes, with Stephen Williams, Geeta Vasant Patel, and Alik Sakharov also contributing episodes across the eight-part first season.

With the season set to run weekly through an October 4 finale, this early five-minute preview gives fans a clear sense of the show’s tone before its full debut, blending intimate character backstory with the kind of slow-burn mystery Lindelof has become known for. The choice to open with a formative, unsettling childhood moment for John Stewart rather than diving straight into cosmic Green Lantern lore signals just how much the series is banking on grounded character work to carry its larger sci-fi premise.

For a franchise looking to bounce back after a rocky stretch, ‘Lanterns’ arriving with this level of atmospheric confidence suggests HBO and DC Studios are treating the series as a genuine tonal reset.

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