Lanterns Season 2 Could Be Years Away

4 min readIN HBO’S LANTERNS, we got a truly different kind of superhero show. Lanterns wore its True Detective influence on its sleeve from the get-go, and stuck with it through to the end, focusing on closing its first-season arc with strong character and storytelling choices as opposed to CGI-filled action set pieces and spectacle. While that choice may disappoint die-hard fans of the characters who want to see their favorite comic tales brought directly into live action, Lanterns clearly prioritized one thing above al else: being a damn good TV show.Lanterns had an all-star team of co-creators (Ozark showrunner Chris Mundy, The Leftovers and Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof, and top comics writer Tom King), and let them push the story forward and put a trio of fantastic lead actors (Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, and Kelly Macdonald) all in position to create layered, complex characters and give top-notch, sure-to-be-in-awards-consideration level performances.There are very few films or television shows based on comic books or superheroes that intend to be one-and-done stories, and that almost certainly applies to Lanterns as well; we’ve only just met John Stewart and the Green Lantern Corps, and with James Gunn’s DC Universe still only just lifting off the ground, there’s still plenty to be explored in the future.But where will it be explored? And when? And through which characters? Below, we get into it with a mix of information that’s already out there, and some of our own speculation—and try to piece together what the future of John, Hal, and Lanterns could look like.Watch Lanterns HereHBOWill Lanterns have a season 2? A second season seems likely, but Lanterns hasn’t been officially renewed just yet. Co-creator Damon Lindelof would not be involved in a second season should there be one (he’s currently working on his own HBO series, The Chain), but he alluded to the early development of a second season during a post-finale interview with Collider, referring to “the writers who are working on ideating on Season 2” and “where they go in Season 2 and beyond” on separate occasions of the same conversation.That’s not the same as an official renewal, but it tells you where the thinking from the people behind the show is at.When will we see John Stewart next? John Stewart will appear in Man of Tomorrow, the Superman sequel that will hit theaters on July 9, 2027. We can assume that he’ll be taking on his new mantle of unofficial Green Lantern of Earth by the time that comes around—and hopefully we’ll see him have some level of interaction with Superman (David Corenswet), Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), and others.What could Lanterns season 2 be about? While the mystery of Hal Jordan’s murder has been solved—and he does, unfortunately, seem to really be dead for the time being—there’s still lots to explore in this Lanterns story. For one, John Stewart has the new role he’s claimed for himself as (unofficial) Green Lantern of Earth, while Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) will continue to patrol the rest of Sector 2814. Does this mean the two will need to—somewhat—work together? How will the Guardians of the Universe react? How does this work with Gardner being a part of the Justice Gang, funded by Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) and alongside Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi)? There are lots of ripples to deal with here.We’ve also still got Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) stranded on a barren planet in the sky, having already made a promise to (maybe) bring Hal Jordan back from the dead. As major, major, major fans of Kyle Chandler’s performance as Hal Jordan, we’re quite interested in exploring that possibility.Noah (Shea Pritchard) is also still a Manhunter and, while there’s obviously good in him and he seems focused on playing college football for Matt Rhule (random cameo!) at Nebraska, he could theoretically still turn into a genocidal murderer at any point. That would be a pretty major problem for John Stewart to deal with.There’s also John’s family, who, as he said in episode 3, are crazy, but he loves them anyway. There is always going to be a ton to dive into there (and we’ll take more of Jasmine Cephas Jones as Bernadette whenever we can get it).Which is all to say: There’s no dearth of rich topics and storylines for a second season of Lanterns to dive into.When would Lanterns season 2 come out?The release date for a potential Lanterns season 2 is unfortunately way up in the air. Lanterns is an expensive show that takes a long time to write, and, with its high production value, a long time to shoot and put through post-production. The reason why shows like The Pitt and The Bear were able to turn around on an annual basis is because they’re largely shot on just a couple of sets and involve very little post-production special effects work; That is not the case with Lanterns. Think of Lanterns more along the timeline of shows like House of the Dragon or Andor. Which means, at best, if a season 2 is ordered, it might not hit our screens until 2028 or 2029. Sorry, folks! But it’ll be worth the wait. If you really want more, you could always fire up the 2011 Green Lantern movie. But we wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing that.Evan is the culture editor for Men's Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE. He loves weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than he doesn't.