Eyes up, DC fans, because we just got our best and most exciting look at Lanterns yet. The upcoming HBO Max series, which stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, just released a new trailer at SDCC, and it has plenty of new reveals for us to chew on before the show’s premiere on August 16.
Especially given how much earlier promo material made the show seem like a True Detective or Yellowstone spin-off that featured a Lantern ring or two, the new trailer looks to set fan worries aside by showing off the show’s more cosmic elements, including fan-favorite characters and concepts from the comics.
Watch the trailer below:
No evil shall escape their sight. Watch the official trailer now. #Lanterns arrives August 16 on HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/NBs4RZBg3c
— HBO Max (@hbomax) July 24, 2026
Let’s dive into what we found most exciting about the new trailer for Lanterns… and who we think the real villain of the show might be!
The Relationship Between Hal Jordan and John Stewart
Lanterns Images
As expected going by previous promotional material, the main plot of Lanterns looks to center around Hal training John as a new recruit to the Green Lantern Corps. However, many fans were curious if Hal and John are intended to be partners of equal standing, or if John is intended to replace Hal as the Lantern assigned to Sector 2814 (the one Earth belongs to). Well, we have our answer: while talking to Sinestro, Hal admits that John is intended to replace him. Is Hal really going to be finished with his Green Lantern duties after this season? That seems like a lot of storytelling potential to leave on the table in the new DCU, but perhaps Hal will change his mind and stick around, or maybe we’ll see a prequel film or series that depicts Hal when he was in his prime while the present timeline focuses on John Stewart’s adventures. Only time will tell.
Sinestro
The new trailer finally gives us our first proper look at Ulrich Thomsen as Thaal Sinestro, who fans know is the archenemy of Hal Jordan and one the principal antagonists of the Green Lantern Corps. The alien supervillain is seen when Hal goes to visit him in prison, where they discuss John Stewart. Given that Hal is mentoring a younger John, it makes sense for Hal’s greatest foe to already be captured and have a long history with his human nemesis. But given how important Sinestro is to Green Lantern mythology, will we really only see him behind bars (or, well, an energy shield anyway), or will he escape and become an antagonist to our heroes? Perhaps Season 1 establishes his threat and he will be the villain of a prospective Season 2? Either way, Green Lantern fans will surely be happy to see him, but they would probably prefer to eventually get Sinestro in all his glory wearing his Yellow Lantern ring.
Manhunters
One of the most important plot reveals in the trailer is that Hal and John will be investigating an incursion on Earth by the Manhunters. If you don’t know your Green Lantern lore, the Manhunters were an army of peacekeeping robots designed by the Guardians of the Universe (the blue aliens who oversee the Green Lantern Corps) to police the cosmos. But the Manhunters wound up being faulty and turning against their masters, forcing the Guardians to destroy most of them, with the survivors going into exile, only to later return as enemies of the Green Lanterns (who the Guardians created to replace their robot creations). In the show, the Manhunters — described as “the most dangerous beings to ever exist in the galaxy” — are on Earth for unknown reasons. They have the ability to change their shape and impersonate anyone, meaning it’s hard to know who Hal and John can trust, and we see one change shape in front of another human.
The Manhunter name may remind you of Martian Manhunter, aka J’onn J’onzz, a superhero in the DC universe with shapeshifting powers who many viewers will remember from his role in the Justice League animated series. J’onn is not the only vigilante in the DC universe to use the name “Manhunter” — a moniker that was inspired by the Manhunters (the robots) going to different worlds after their exile and starting up Cults of the Manhunters. In the aforementioned shapeshifting scene in the trailer, we see the Manhunter has a cross over his chest area, reminiscent of J’onn’s signature costume. Are we going to see a strong correlation between Martians and Manhunters in the new DCU? We’d like to know!
Guy Gardner’s Warning
Speaking of other Green Lanterns, we also get our first look at Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner in this trailer, reprising his role from last year’s Superman film (as confirmed by Entertainment Weekly last year). What we don’t know is how big of a role Guy will have. Is he essentially a glorified cameo, or will he be a major supporting character helping Hal and John during their investigation? Guy is a member of the Justice Gang in the DCU and seems to be somewhat removed from what’s going on with the rest of the Green Lantern Corps at this point in the timeline, but since he is a Lantern, it makes sense for him to be part of this show. More pressingly, Guy gives Hal an ominous warning, saying that “he’s going to send an army to put you down.” Who is Guy talking about? He doesn’t clarify, but the “army” in question is most likely the Manhunters, so who is behind them? We have a theory about that…
Are Atrocitus and the Red Lanterns Coming?
This is not confirmed by the trailer itself, but going by context clues, we can speculate on who the true villain of Lanterns is. Since Sinestro is in prison and Guy’s dialogue indicates there is a male villain pulling the strings of the Manhunters, we believe that Atrocitus may be the true enemy Hal and John have to face. If you’re not familiar with the character from the comics, Atrocitus is the leader of the Red Lantern Corps, and one of the major enemies of the Green Lanterns introduced by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver in their relaunch of the Green Lantern mythology. Each of the different colors of Lantern Rings correspond to a different emotion that powers the wearer, with Green being willpower and Red being rage. We don’t see Atrocitus or any Red Lanterns in the trailer, but we do see a big red laser blasting targets from orbit on two different occasions. Is this just a random weapon? Maybe, but given how important the color spectrum is to Green Lantern lore, we can’t imagine it’s a coincidence that red is the color used in the trailer. Our guess is that Atrocitus, perhaps in human disguise, is the true power behind the Manhunters. But we’ll know for sure once we see the show.
What did you think of the Lanterns trailer? Let us know in the comments! For more on the show, check out what writer-producer Damon Lindelof said was the one rule James Gunn had, and here’s why the series downplays the Green Lantern Corps.
Carlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Twitter.