HBO has shared the first five minutes of the “Lanterns” premiere online a few days ahead of the DC Universe show’s official Sunday night debut.
Anticipation has been building for “Lanterns” ever since DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn announced the project in 2023. Created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, the series promises to not only further build out the growing mythology of Gunn’s DC Universe but also introduce viewers to the franchise’s take on the Green Lantern Corps. Unsurprisingly, the show’s first five minutes waste little time doing exactly that.
Beginning in 1996, the teaser finds a young John Stewart (played as an adult by “Rebel Ridge” star Aaron Pierre) staying up late to watch a TV interview with Earth’s first Green Lantern, former Air Force test pilot Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), who insists that he is just a “regular person” like everyone else. Jordan’s TV interview speeds through his origin story, establishing not only his military past but also the death of his father when Hal was a young boy.
“Every kid’s worst fear is losing a parent. Once that happens, there is nothing to fear anymore,” Chandler’s Hal explains, noting that the only test a Green Lantern recruit faces is a single question: “Are you afraid?”
John’s military father (Sherman Augustus) then returns home and punishes his son by taking him out back for play a game of William Tell with his pistol and an apple on his son’s head. There, John Stewart Sr. asks his boy the same question: “Are you afraid?” His son replies, “No, sir,” and does not flinch as his father subsequently shoots the apple off his head.
The “Lanterns” clip ends a minute later with a leap forward 20 years to 2016, picking up with Pierre’s adult Stewart as he gets into a car with Chandler’s Hal. The HBO series’ opening five minutes, in other words, offer a lot of insight into its two leads’ respective lives in a short amount of time, and viewers can look forward to getting to know both better when “Lanterns” arrives later this week.
“Lanterns” premieres Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
