James Gunn's DCU Officially Reveals The Identity Of Its Secret Villain
Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.
Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."
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Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for HBO's Lanterns episode 4.Lanterns episode 4 ends with the biggest reveal yet for the DC Universe series, and everything is about to change. At the end of Lanterns episode 3, the DCU series made it pretty clear that the Guardians of the Universe were always looking to replace Hal Jordan with John Stewart. From the moment he was chosen for the role, John knew he was meant to take over from Hal, which plays into their fiery dynamic, as Kyle Chandler's veteran superhero knows full well what the Guardians intend to do, even if he was not given the full details on John's role.
Additionally, that distrust was attributed to the fact that Hal might be under Sinestro's influence. So far, Ulrich Thomsen's Sinestro has not appeared much in Lanterns, only being shown behind bars as he spoke to Hal and gave him information about the Manhunter hiding in Rushville. However, as Sinestro poked him about John and their training, it became clear that he was trying to manipulate Hal. As Laura Linney's Guardian of the Universe told Aaron Pierre's John Stewart during his Green Lantern Corps interview, Sinestro served as Hal's father figure in the DCU, so he still harbors feelings for him.
Sector 2814 · Ring Active How Well Do You Know Lanterns? “In brightest day, in blackest night...”
💍The RingPowered by will
🔦The Corps3,600 sectors
🌌OaThe Guardians
👮Earth BeatSector 2814
⚠Yellow
PerilThe fear entity
01
Lanterns is one of the tentpole TV series launching James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe. On which streaming platform does it air?
✓ Correct! HBO Max — Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streamer and the natural home for DCU prestige TV alongside Peacemaker and The Penguin. Lanterns is positioned as the DCU’s high-end serialised drama counterpart to Gunn’s theatrical Superman relaunch, sharing canon with the films. Disney+ runs Marvel; Netflix and Apple are rival streamers.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is HBO Max. Netflix has had various superhero shows but not DCU. Disney+ is Marvel’s home. Apple TV+ doesn’t house DC. HBO Max is Warner Bros. Discovery’s streamer and the TV home of the Gunn/Safran DCU — Lanterns joins Peacemaker and upcoming DCU series there.
02
Unlike most Green Lantern adaptations, Lanterns pairs two Earth-based ring-bearers in a buddy-cop framework — a weathered veteran and a newer recruit partnered together on Sector 2814 duty. Which two Lanterns lead the show?
✓ Correct! Hal Jordan and John Stewart — two of the most beloved Earth-assigned Lanterns — are paired as the show’s central duo. Hal is the hot-shot test-pilot veteran, John the disciplined ex-Marine architect with a sharper sense of justice. The pairing draws heavily from the Geoff Johns comics era and lets the show explore two very different philosophies of what a Green Lantern should be.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Guy Gardner (played by Nathan Fillion) is a separate DCU character who appears in the 2025 Superman film. Kyle Rayner is a beloved Lantern but not part of this show. The Lanterns duo is the Hal/John pairing — a pointedly contrasting veteran and recruit on Sector 2814 duty together.
03
The role of Hal Jordan — the weathered, test-pilot-turned-space-cop original Earth Lantern — went to a veteran actor best known as Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights and for leading Bloodline. Who plays Hal?
✓ Correct! Kyle Chandler — Emmy winner for Friday Night Lights, star of Bloodline, and part of the Monsterverse (Godzilla: King of the Monsters) — plays an older, weathered Hal Jordan. James Gunn wanted a seasoned, grounded presence rather than a rookie. Ryan Reynolds played Hal in 2011’s widely-mocked Green Lantern film (a different continuity); Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner in the 2025 Superman film.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Kyle Chandler. Ryan Reynolds’ Hal was the 2011 film (a separate, mostly-disowned continuity). Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner in the 2025 Superman film — not Hal. Chris Pine isn’t in the DCU. Chandler’s weathered, Friday-Night-Lights gravitas is exactly the mature Hal energy Gunn wanted for the show.
04
John Stewart — ex-Marine sniper, architect, and one of DC’s most iconic Black heroes — is played by a British actor who broke out in Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad and Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge. Who is he?
✓ Correct! Aaron Pierre — the British actor who earned raves as Caesar in The Underground Railroad (2021) and carried Netflix’s Rebel Ridge (2024) with a performance frequently compared to early Denzel Washington. Gunn called his casting “a no-brainer.” Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown and John Boyega are all great actors but not in the role.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Aaron Pierre. Winston Duke is M’Baku in the Marvel universe. Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us, American Fiction) is Marvel-adjacent too. John Boyega famously played Finn in Star Wars. Pierre’s Rebel Ridge performance — playing a disciplined ex-Marine — is essentially his audition for John Stewart, and Gunn’s team cast him off it.
05
James Gunn has repeatedly pitched Lanterns as a grounded, small-town murder-mystery thriller — where the space-cop rings are secondary to a detective case on Earth. Which acclaimed HBO series is his go-to tonal comparison?
✓ Correct! Gunn has explicitly called Lanterns his “True Detective in the DCU” — a slow-burn, atmospheric, character-driven case with superhero elements layered over a grounded murder mystery. Showrunner Chris Mundy actually did True Detective: Night Country duties, bringing that DNA directly. Watchmen (Damon Lindelof) was also cited, and Lindelof has consulting writer credits, but True Detective is the primary comp.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is True Detective. Gunn has named it as the explicit tonal blueprint — a slow-burn, character-driven murder mystery with superhero elements layered over it. Chris Mundy, the show’s runner, worked on True Detective: Night Country, bringing the DNA directly. Watchmen was a secondary comp (Damon Lindelof consults), but True Detective is the primary pitch.
06
When James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as DC Studios co-CEOs in 2022, they announced a rebooted slate of interconnected films and TV shows — with Lanterns among the launch titles. What is this first DCU phase officially called?
✓ Correct! Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters — announced in January 2023 as the Gunn/Safran DCU’s opening slate. It includes Superman (2025), The Authority, Supergirl, The Brave and the Bold, Paradise Lost, Waller, Creature Commandos, and of course Lanterns. Crisis on Infinite Earths is a comics event; Flashpoint and Dark Knights are other DC storylines, not the chapter branding.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. Crisis on Infinite Earths is a famous DC comics crossover event (and Arrowverse crossover) but not a DCU chapter label. Flashpoint was referenced in The Flash (2023) from the now-defunct DCEU. The Gunn/Safran era officially named its launch phase Gods and Monsters — Superman 2025, Lanterns, and related titles.
07
Green Lanterns serve the Guardians of the Universe, an ancient race who created the Corps’ 3,600-sector peacekeeping force and charge the Lantern rings from a central Power Battery on their home planet. What is the Guardians’ homeworld called?
✓ Correct! Oa — the small blue-skinned Guardians’ home at the centre of the universe. It houses the Central Power Battery from which all Green Lantern rings draw their energy, and serves as the Corps’ academy and operational base. Krypton is Superman’s destroyed homeworld; Themyscira is Wonder Woman’s hidden Amazon island; Apokolips is Darkseid’s hellscape.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Oa. Krypton is Superman’s homeworld. Themyscira is Paradise Island where Wonder Woman was raised. Apokolips is Darkseid’s grim world in the Fourth World mythos. Oa is specifically the Guardians of the Universe’s planet — home to the Central Power Battery that fuels every Green Lantern ring in all 3,600 sectors.
08
Every Green Lantern recites the same oath when charging their ring — a four-line rhyming incantation that’s become one of the most famous pieces of verse in comic-book history. How does it famously begin?
✓ Correct! “In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil’s might / Beware my power — Green Lantern’s light!” The oath dates back to 1940’s All-American Comics #16, was refined through the Silver Age, and is considered one of DC’s most sacred bits of verse. Every canonical adaptation includes some version of it.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is “In brightest day, in blackest night...” The full oath: “No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil’s might / Beware my power — Green Lantern’s light!” It’s been canon since 1940 and remains one of comics’ most instantly recognisable pieces of verse — recited in every major Green Lantern adaptation.
Ring Depowered · Report to Oa Your Corps Rank
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Honor Guard veteran — or still in Corps training?
That was picked back up on at the start of Lanterns episode 4, with the rest of Hal and Sinestro's conversation in prison, where Sinestro claims Hal must kill John, to which he objects. Linney's character also returns to tell John what he must do to take Hal's place. Additionally, as Hal and John investigate William Macon's compound and embark on an even wider search after that, they come to finally realize who the Manhunter is, and it turns out that the villain was hiding in plain sight as a charismatic companion.
Zoe Macon Is The Manhunter Hiding In Rushville
The mystery that started in Lanterns episode 1 has finally been resolved, as Poorna Jagannathan's Zoe Macon is revealed to be the Manhunter in the final moments of Lanterns episode 4. It all started with Hal and John sneaking into Macon's compound by using a giant drill John makes with the Green Lantern ring in hopes of finding out clues on Macon's benefactor. After they are stopped by Macon's goons, who use mist guns made of alien technology to counter the Green Lantern ring, Sheriff Kerry takes them back to the motel. There, John is visited by Zoe, and they get intimate again.
The first major twist with Zoe in the episode comes as she is seemingly killed by a powerful beam that descends from the sky and hits her truck head on. In their search for who might be responsible for Zoe's death, the Green Lanterns find Hector Hammond, the owner of Atlas. After Hal calls his bluff and prevents Hammond from hurting John's family, the character claims that Macon is the Manhunter, rather than his mysterious benefactor. However, Hal clocks that through all of this, John has been eerily calm about Zoe's death, as in reality, he does not believe she is dead.
They have a brief conversation in which Hal realizes that she must be the Manhunter based on John's reaction and the fact that she survived the laser beam from the sky. As such, Lanterns episode 5 is set up to be a major showdown episode as Hal tries to get to Zoe now that he knows who she really is.
Everything Revealed About William Macon In Lanterns Episode 3
Despite what Lanterns wanted viewers to think, Garret Dillahunt's William Macon is not the Manhunter. Lanterns episode 4 tries to plant that idea once again after Macon had acted in a suspicious manner in previous episodes. However, with the reveal that Zoe is the Manhunter at the end of episode 4, a lot of what Macon has said and done can be put into perspective. In reality, his mysterious benefactor was in fact his wife, and William was not mad at John for having slept with her because she was the one who gave him the orders and had all the power.
Besides, Macon appears to be fully devoted to her. During an eye-opening conversation where Macon bared it all — figuratively and literally — while he was naked in his home talking to Hal and John, Dillahunt's character revealed that his benefactor cured him of cancer, with everything changing in Rushville for the better after the Manhunter arrived. The fact that Zoe is the Manhunter means that after saving Macon's life, he became dedicated to making sure she was hidden and safe in Rushville, installing the alien detectors in town and growing his militia to protect her. DC theories about Macon being Black Hand are likely dead.
What The Guardians Of The Universe Want John Stewart To Do Explained
In Lanterns episode 3, Linney's character made it clear to John that the Guardians of the Universe no longer trusted Hal after Sinestro betrayed the Green Lantern Corps and killed one of them. Sure, Chandler's DC hero was the one to stop Sinestro, but they were worried about how Hal still held a soft spot for his former mentor and father figure. In Lanterns episode 4, Linney's Guardians returns, showing up at John's motel room. She tells John that Hal went to talk to Sinestro in prison, urging John to strip Hal of his Green Lantern title the next time he hands it to him for training.
All John Stewart would need to do to replace Hal Jordan as Earth's new Green Lantern would be to recite the Corps' oath the next time Hal handed him the power ring. John got a chance to do that in Lanterns episode 4. Hal asks him to use the ring to come up with their way of infiltrating William Macon's compound, and John just makes the drill that allows them to go inside, choosing not to take over the Green Lantern mantle from Hal by force.
In the past, John made it clear that while he and Hal did not see eye-to-eye, he respected him for being fearless. As such, it would not make sense for John to take such a cheap shot at him. He will always do the honorable thing, so with Hal now gunning for Zoe after she was revealed to be the Manhunter, it will be very interesting to see how their dynamic will fare in episode 5.
What Sinestro's New DCU Appearance Reveals About His Dynamic With Hal Jordan
Finally, Thomsen returned as Sinestro at the start of Lanterns episode 4. During Sinestro's conversation with Hal, he tried to manipulate him. First, Sinestro claims that the Manhunter is the second-biggest threat Hal faces, with John being the first. Sinestro pushes the boundaries with Hal as he tells the hero to kill John, with Hal saying that he is not evil.
Using himself as an example, Sinestro says that his ambition was always a threat and Hal just chose not to see it, leading to Sinestro beng successful in killing one of the Guardians of the Universe and attempting a coup. The Guardians are right about Hal having a soft spot for Sinestro, but while the villain did plant some seeds of doubt in the DC hero, Hal did not give in to what he said, proving the Guardians wrong, at least for now. It remains to be seen whether Sinestro's influence will cause Hal to change in the back half of Lanterns season 1.
- Release Date
- August 16, 2026
- Network
- HBO
- Showrunner
- Chris Mundy
-
Kyle Chandler
Hal Jordan
-
Aaron Pierre
John Stewart
- Directors
- Alik Sakharov, James Hawes, Stephen Williams
- Writers
- Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy
- Franchise(s)
- DC Universe
- Creator(s)
- Tom King, Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof
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