Lanterns Showrunner Says James Gunn Gave 8-Episode Series Wide Creative Freedom
Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 19
Lanterns Showrunner Says James Gunn Gave 8-Episode Series Wide Creative Freedom
3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Aug 19
Summary
Chris Mundy said James Gunn largely stayed out of Lanterns’ development, giving the team room to shape the eight-episode HBO drama without having to hit mandated setup points for DC’s wider film slate.
Mundy said that freedom extended to John Stewart’s path into Superman follow-up Man of Tomorrow, with no requirement to engineer a specific handoff or leave the character at a preplanned story destination.
The series instead leans into Tom King’s “True Detective-ish” pitch, following Hal Jordan and John Stewart in Nebraska after four undercover aliens are killed at a high school football game.
The pilot’s biggest reveal jumps from 2016 to 2026, where Jordan is found dead at the same field; Mundy said that twist was built in from the start and known to star Kyle Chandler.
Mundy is already outlining a potential season 2 with Christopher Cantwell about six weeks into story work, though HBO has not officially green-lit another run.