James Gunn’s DCU Brings Back One Of The Most Powerful DC Villains After 15 Years

Sinestro’s Debut Means Bad News For John Stewart: Lanterns Episode 2 Ending Explained Image courtesy of John Johnson/HBO Max Published Aug 23, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT 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." Sign in to your ScreenRant account Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for HBO's Lanterns episode 2.Lanterns episode 2 had a tough act to follow after the season premiere did a great job of setting up its Green Lanterns and ended with a shocking reveal, but the new hour succeeds by adding a lot of exciting elements to the lore of the new DC Universe. At the end of Lanterns episode 1, Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan is found dead. That completely changes the structure of the live-action DC show, as viewers will now follow Hal and John's adventure in the 2016 DCU timeline, where they are investigating an alien invasion in Rushville, Nebraska, while knowing that the Green Lantern Corps legend dies a decade later for a mysterious reason. Still, there is plenty to be revealed before Hal dies, and that includes a true blast from the past. Already revealed to be part of Lanterns' cast of characters before the show debuted, Lanterns episode 2 marks the debut of Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro. This stands as the first time that the Green Lantern villain is seen in live-action since Mark Strong gave life to a version of Sinestro in the 2011 Green Lantern movie starring Ryan Reynolds. 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 ⚠YellowPerilThe fear entity ACTIVATE RING → 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? ANetflix BHBO Max CDisney+ DApple TV+ ✓ 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. NEXT → 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? AHal Jordan & Guy Gardner BHal Jordan & John Stewart CJohn Stewart & Kyle Rayner DHal Jordan & Kyle Rayner ✓ 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. NEXT → 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? ARyan Reynolds (reprising) BKyle Chandler CNathan Fillion DChris Pine ✓ 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. NEXT → 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? AAaron Pierre BWinston Duke CSterling K. Brown DJohn Boyega ✓ 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. NEXT → 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? ATrue Detective BThe Wire CWestworld DWatchmen ✓ 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. NEXT → 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? AChapter 1: Gods and Monsters BCrisis on Infinite Earths CThe Flashpoint Initiative DDark Knights Rising ✓ 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. NEXT → 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? AKrypton BOa CThemyscira DApokolips ✓ 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. NEXT → 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? A“In the darkest hour, a light shall rise...” B“In brightest day, in blackest night...” C“By the power of Oa, I serve...” D“Ring of willpower, heed my call...” ✓ 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. REVEAL MY SCORE → Ring Depowered · Report to Oa Your Corps Rank 💍 / 8 Honor Guard veteran — or still in Corps training? ⤴ RECHARGE RING Sinestro's DCU debut is by far the biggest element of Lanterns episode 2, though not its only important one. The new entry in the hit DC series confirms that Sheriff Kerry is from Gotham City, and with the Kane last name that could connect her to Batman. Additionally, there were several exciting reveals about the future of the new DC Universe, even though the 2026 timeline was not shown. What Sinestro’s Debut Means For Lanterns Before Thomsen's Sinestro even shows up onscreen, his presence is already felt throughout the episode. When he was sleeping, Hal Jordan kept saying Sinestro's name. It is due to that connection that we discover what fate befell the popular DC Comics villain in Gunn's DCU. Sinestro attempted to take over the Green Lantern Corps by force and even went as far as killing one of the Guardians of the Universe. That led to Hal having to stop his former mentor's coup, leading to Sinestro finding himself in the cosmic prison that he is seen in at the end of Lanterns episode 2. Hal puts the Green Lantern suit on to visit Sinestro in prison, making this one of the special occasions he described in the season premiere. In terms of his onscreen presence, Sinestro was barely in the episode. That is by design, as the Green Lantern villain only appears at the very end as Hal visits him in prison, setting up either a major role for the character in the next episode of Lanterns, or for the rest of the season. However, it was easy to see how Sinestro is already all-in on his manipulation tactics. After Hal asks his former mentor what he knows about Manhunters, Sinestro immediately snaps back by asking him about Pierre's John Stewart. Hal might be going down a dangerous road. Lanterns’ Manhunters Explained Hal goes to Sinestro to get information on the Manhunters after John was kidnapped by another group of aliens hunting down a Manhunter. This way, he learned about the powerful DC beings, and Hal is trying to see how his mentor can help him identify the Manhunter at large. Manhunters come from DC Comics, where they were the first line of defense of the galaxy before the Green Lanterns came to be. Like the Green Lantern Corps, the Guardians of the Universe were responsible for the creation of the Manhunters. However, it did not work as well as expected. The Manhunters, who are deadly machines with no empathy in the comics, eventually went up against the Guardians of the Universe and left a path of destruction across the cosmos. This led to the Guardians destroying most of them and replacing the Manhunters with the Green Lantern Corps, which works based on the Emotional Spectrum, thus fixing a key design flaw of the universe's last peacekeeping force. After John tells Hal about the Manhunters in Lanterns episode 2, the DC series reveals that it was a Manhunter who killed Abin Sur, the original bearer of Hal's ring. Everything Lanterns Episode 2 Reveals About The Rushville Mystery Photograph by John Johnson/HBO Max Lanterns episode 2 does not only introduce the DCU's version of Sinestro, but also the iconic location of Coast City. It is briefly seen when Hal sends John to his home — a shockingly huge mansion — to retrieve his power battery and recharge his ring. There, John Stewart is abducted by a group of aliens who infuse a lot of energy and urgency into the mystery at play in Rushville. It turns out that the aliens who were killed at the football field were shot by William Macon's people, and they were also pinpointed by an alien detector masquerading as a metal detector at the venue's entrance. However, they do not seem to be the bad guys, different from what Lanterns episode 1 had made them seem. Instead, Paul Ben-Victor's Antaan and his team want to recruit John Stewart to their cause. Their entire species, save for them, was completely wiped out by the Manhunters, which he makes John see through advanced technology that is forcefully injected into him. Not knowing that the Manhunter killed Abin Sur and sent Hal on his Green Lantern journey, which is revealed later on in episode 2, the aliens think Hal is protecting the Manhunter, giving John 48 hours to find it before obliterating Rushville. How Lanterns’ Pocket Dimension Ties Into The Larger DCU Finally, during John's trip to Hal's mansion in Coast City, we get a few fun reveals, such as Hal having a living plant called Earl and John finding a closet full of Green Lantern suits, one of which he brings back to Hal as a surprise. That said, the biggest reveal at Hal Jordan's house is that his power battery is safely stored away in a pocket dimension. As such, this continues a long-running DCU streak. After all, Peacemaker season 2 and Gunn's Superman movie used that concept as a driving element of their stories. In Superman, Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor created a pocket universe where he built a prison for everyone who was against him, including David Corenswet's Superman. When a portal breaks down, a massive rift nearly destroys Metropolis. In Peacemaker season 2, DC explored a multiverse storyline as John Cena's title hero ventured into the Quantum Unfolding Chamber. In the end, Peacemaker was sent to the prison planet known as Salvation. As such, it seems like Lanterns confirms how the pocket dimension storyline will be what unites the DCU Chapter One. Release Date August 16, 2026 Network HBO Showrunner Chris Mundy Cast Aaron Pierre John Stewart Directors James Hawes Writers Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof Franchise(s) DC Universe Creator(s) Tom King, Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof