Lanterns Showrunner Says James Gunn Gave Creative Team Total Freedom

The writing team behind Lanterns had full freedom to develop the series without tailoring its plot to future DC films.

Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy shared details regarding DC Studios co-head James Gunn’s involvement in the production. Despite the show’s connection to the broader DC Universe, the studio head trusted the writers and did not force them to align their narrative with upcoming movies.

“Early on, James was right in the middle of Superman, in the thick of it. So he would weigh in on the big-picture stuff, but he gave us a lot of trust.”

Chris Mundy

This autonomy applied directly to John Stewart’s character arc. While Aaron Pierre’s character will appear in Man of Tomorrow following Lanterns, the writers were never instructed to maneuver him toward a predetermined state for the film.

“We knew we had to launch John, but there wasn’t a specific plot point we had to get him to. We weren’t boxed in at all.”

Chris Mundy

According to Mundy, the lack of rigid guidelines made the writing process both easier and more challenging, as the team had to determine on their own where to leave Stewart by the end of the season. This fits the overarching strategy established by Gunn and Peter Safran, who pledged from the start to provide creative independence to filmmakers across DC projects.

The first season of Lanterns is currently airing on HBO. The series will span eight episodes, with the season finale scheduled for October 4.

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