James Gunn's DCU Officially Replaces Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan
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 5.Lanterns returned to HBO this Sunday with an explosive episode that is easily the DC series' biggest thus far, and its ending marks a monumental shift not only for the show, but also the rest of the DCU. At the end of Lanterns episode 4, Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan realized that Aaron Pierre's John Stewart knew that Zoe Macon was the Manhunter and kept it from him. That led to another of Hal's now-famous jumping-off-cars moments, with the Green Lantern legend allowing John to crash straight into a pole. That violent accident led to a pretty gnarly moment in episode 5.
Additionally, the reveal that Zoe was the Manhunter was the basis for Lanterns episode 5, with Hal trying to kill her and setting Antaan and his alien friends on William Macon's compound to take out his army and allow the Green Lantern to find and kill Zoe. Of course, not everything went as planned. Aside from the main Manhunter plot following last weekend's Zoe reveal, Lanterns episode 5 also went back to what Laura Linney's DCU character, one of the Guardians of the Universe, wanted John Stewart to do, which was to take Hal's Green Lantern ring from him by force.
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?
Lanterns episode 5 also picked back up on a previous season 1 line, which was Sheriff Kerry's reveal to Hal that she did not originate from Rushville, but rather Gotham City. All of those elements came back to create Lanterns' biggest episode thus far and one of the most important releases in the DCU's Chapter One, as the new hour comes with a seismic shift for the franchise and even sets up the DC show's debut of a major superhero who has yet to appear in Lanterns. Here are the major events in Lanterns episode 5:
Hal Jordan's Green Lantern Ring Is Taken From Him
Hal Jordan was established in Lanterns' first four episodes as a highly capable superhero who has been on the job for decades. Hal is also the biggest Green Lantern in DC Comics. As such, the fact that John Stewart took Hal's ring away was a major shift for the DCU. Throughout the hour, fans watched as Hal tried to pinpoint where Zoe was, all while engaging with Rushville residents who were loyal to her for having saved their lives or made them exponentially better. To accomplish that goal, Hal struck a deal with Antaan, though he lied about who the Manhunter was.
Hal sent the aliens into the Macon compound to keep their militia occupied, with Antaan killing William and realizing that he was not the Manhunter. Later, Hal would create a green tornado that sucked up Antaan and sent him to the sky after the alien triggered the same explosion within him that the first one Hal and John encountered in Lanterns episode 1 did. This all led to a sequence where Hal and John fought for possession of the Green Lantern ring, with the latter enraged by the fact that he nearly died, as John's body was scarred and his nerve endings burned, in the car crash.
It was only thanks to Zoe that John came out of the other end alive and well, though that did not stop him from shooting her in the head, ending the threat of the Manhunter on Earth. Still, Hal's little stunt almost destroyed John's life, and for someone who was a hero, that was a major line Chandler's character crossed. As Hal lay in the rubble of the motel when John took his Green Lantern ring, he said to his replacement, "Was it worth it?" Those moments with Hal are key to understanding the monumental choice John ends up making.
Lanterns Changes John Stewart's Goal & Sets Up Guy Gardner
Lanterns' first half touched on John Stewart's backstory pretty heavily. Pierre's character was trained since he was a child to be fearless and serve as the perfect Green Lantern, being everything that Hal was not, according to his parents. In the 2016 timeline, Laura Linney's Guardian of the Universe told John that he had to take the Green Lantern ring from Hal and recite the Corps' oath to replace the hero in the role. John finally got to that moment in Lanterns episode 5.
However, with the power battery in one hand and the Green Lantern ring in the other, John decided not to fulfill his lifelong mission. After John nearly died from Hal crashing the car he was in, he realized just how much wanting to hold on to the Green Lantern ring had changed Hal. By commenting on how Hal betrayed himself to keep the ring, John decides to let go of all he trained for and not become the DCU's second human Green Lantern. That is the direct event that leads to Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner becoming Green Lantern, as seen in 2025's Superman.
Everything We Learn About Zoe Macon (The Manhunter)
Poorna Jagannathan's Zoe Macon was revealed to have saved Sheriff Kerry's life in the past, which is why even the character who had been the closest to Hal and John in Rushville was not keen on turning in the Manhunter hiding in their midst. Lanterns also reconfirmed how what she was doing with John by creating an emotional bond between them was pure manipulation. After all, it is revealed that the Manhunter also had a romantic relationship with Antaan, though Zoe still went on to decimate his planet's population.
John could not trust Zoe, even if she essentially gave him a new chance at life by fixing his scarred body with advanced technology. Another major Manhunter reveal was that she was indeed the one to kill Abin Sur, the Green Lantern who was the original bearer of Hal Jordan's ring. Abin Sur was bringing Zoe to Earth to hide her there, and the Manhunter killed the alien because if he died, no one would know exactly where she was or what form she took on. After John shot and killed Zoe, her heart crystallized, like Sinestro told Hal it would, confirming she was the Manhunter.
Sheriff Kerry's Gotham City Past Explained
Zoe's appearance in the flashback sequence at the start of Lanterns episode 5 explained how she managed to control Rushville to the point that the townsfolk were ready to take up weapons and defend her with their life. Kerry ran away from Gotham City after her father snitched on a criminal organization, causing him to be murdered and her to be hunted down by multiple Gotham goons.
When Kerry's car broke down outside Rushville, not only did Zoe physically intervene to save Kerry from the men who had been hunting her, but she came up with the perfect solution to the problem. Kerry cut off one of her own fingers so it looked like she had died. As such, Kerry is a ghost, with no one in Gotham looking for her. Having the Kane surname, which could connect her to Kate Kane and Bruce Wayne, could be a way to set up an interesting Batman story after Lanterns.
- Release Date
- August 16, 2026
- Network
- HBO
- Showrunner
- Chris Mundy
- Directors
- Alik Sakharov, James Hawes, Stephen Williams, Geeta Patel
- Writers
- Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy, Tom King, Vanessa Baden Kelly, Justin Britt-Gibson, Breannah Gibson
-
Kyle Chandler
Hal Jordan
-
Aaron Pierre
John Stewart
- Franchise(s)
- DC Universe
- Creator(s)
- Tom King, Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof
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