'Lanterns' Will Follow Two Mysteries Across Two Timelines

Having sorted out the case of the disappearing trailer (it’s back now, and there was a boringly normal reason for its brief absence), Lanterns is now revealing pieces of a far more interesting mystery: what, exactly, its plot will be about. We already knew that the DC Studios series, arriving August 16 on HBO and HBO Max, will follow Green Lantern Corps. members played by Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler as they investigate a case in small-town Nebraska. And we could tell it’s leaning into a gritty, grounded tone—Peacemaker, this is not. As for its story, showrunner Chris Mundy told Entertainment Weekly that a different HBO show offered some major inspiration: True Detective, specifically its first season. Like that series, Lanterns will explore its characters across two different time periods. In 2016, we’ll see Hal Jordan (Chandler) investigating a shooting that he believes is alien-related, a perspective not shared by the skeptical local sheriff (Kelly Macdonald). At that time, John Stewart (Pierre) is a new recruit who Hal is pressed into working with. Then, in sequences that take place a decade later, the case will expand to include “something else,” according to Mundy. “That be