When HBO offered a fleeting glimpse of the DC Universe’s upcoming Lanterns during an industry sizzle reel last year, fans of the Emerald Knight were left with a glaring question: Where is the ring-slinging spectacle? There were no emerald energy blasts and certainly no intricate hard-light constructs. While understandable for a project then a year away, the debut of the first full teaser trailer has done little to quiet those initial concerns.
The footage centers on our primary duo: the seasoned Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and the newly recruited John Stewart (Aaron Pierre). “We’ve been at this for two months and I haven’t even put the ring on,” Stewart observes with growing impatience. In a quintessential display of Jordan’s reckless mentorship, he hands over the Power Ring, drives their vehicle off a cliff, and leaps to safety at the last second.
If Stewart utilizes his newfound abilities to survive the plunge, the trailer keeps that moment strictly off-camera. For all we know, that two-month streak of being “grounded” remains intact.
Across the entire two-minute runtime, we never witness Jordan or Stewart manifesting the willpower-based abilities that define the characters. The closest we get is a shot of Jordan taking flight in civilian clothes—conspicuously lacking a green aura—and a final beat where he appears to charge his ring for a blast that the edit cuts away from before it fires.
While the YouTube reception is generally positive, a vocal contingent of the fandom is highlighting the lack of visual “oomph.”
“Where’s the actual green?” one viewer asked. Another noted, “The full teaser is out and we still haven’t seen a single frame of them in uniform or utilizing their powers.” A third joked about a “Green Lantern show with literally nothing green,” though, in fairness, a physical lantern prop does make a brief appearance.
The conversation on X, where the trailer was also shared, echoed this skepticism. Some fans are already theorizing that Lanterns might adopt a “slow-burn” structure, perhaps withholding the iconic suits and abilities until the final episode of the eight-part season.
“Getting major Surf Dracula vibes here,” one user remarked. “Are they really going to wait until the finale to let them suit up?” another questioned.
Ultimately, the aesthetic of Lanterns feels far more aligned with the gritty procedural tone of True Detective than the high-flying heroism expected from James Gunn’s Superman. It appears Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King are crafting a more grounded, noir-inspired take on the mythos. Whether the omission of special effects is a deliberate stylistic choice or a sign that the VFX are still in the oven remains to be seen.
Lanterns is scheduled to premiere this August on HBO and Max.
Source: Polygon
