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Lanterns: Lindelof Responds to Grant Morrison, Owns Up to "Dumb Joke"

Lanterns co-creator Damon Lindelof responded to Grant Morrison and others, apologizing and owning up to making a "dumb joke."

By now, it's safe to say that if you're reading this, then you know that writer and comics great Grant Morrison had something to say about Chris Mundy (True Detective: Night Country), Damon Lindelof (Watchmen), and Tom King's (Supergirl) Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler-starring Lanterns. Specifically, the focus was on Lindelof's comments during a 2025 appearance on the Lovett or Leave It podcast. When asked why the DC Studios series was called "Lanterns" instead of "Green Lantern," Lindelof responded, "It's called 'Lanterns' because we all agreed that the green was stupid, so now it's just 'Lanterns.'" We had some thoughts on the matter, specifically, how this was one of those situations where Lindelof and Morrison could both be wrong at the same time. Now, Lindelof has taken to social media to own up to making a "dumb joke" on a podcast, while also making the case for life-long love for the comic book universe.

"I have upset Grant Morrison, which means I have now pissed off MOST of the brilliant British/Scottish comics writers that I grew up idolizing. To quote the bard (Otis Redding), this is nobody's fault but mine. I made a dumb joke on a comedy podcast. I'm not going to bob and weave about context, the joke was dumb, the fandom is not. I owe them an explanation and a genuine reflection of my actual feelings," Lindelof wrote in an Instagram post, which also included personal images to make his case.

Lindelof continued, "The very first time I appeared on a ComicCon panel was for the Lost Pilot, back in the summer of 2004. I wore my favorite T-shirt as I had long grown out of my favorite underoos, those being the uniform of Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Sector 2814. For a quiet, uncoordinated kid, there was nothing cooler than a hero whose superpower was his imagination. And green is not stupid, it is my lifelong favorite color and I have a questionnaire that I filled out in third grade to prove it. Green is fucking awesome."

He wrapped up his response by adding, "More importantly, it would be a betrayal to everyone I worked for and alongside to say anything other than I was absolutely honored to be a part of the team that manifested the incredible construct that is Lanterns… because it was. I was sloppy and careless with my words, ironic considering I care so much about Hal, John and the entire Corps. I can and will do better to be worthy of the oath… until then, I'll let the show speak for itself and I can't wait for you all to hear what it has to say."

In a recent edition of their Substack, Xanaduum ("15/3 WOKE WAR THREE"), Morrison responded to Lindelof's comments, writing:

TV writer/producer Damon Lindelof's comments notwithstanding, the 'Green' in 'Green Lantern(s)' green is not 'stupid'. Why does a writer attach himself to this kind of narrative if he thinks it's fundamentally 'stupid'? You don't hand CSI scripts to patronising writers who condemn forensics experts and their haircuts as 'stupid', so why hire people who are ashamed and in denial about the comic book material they've been assigned to develop? Why don't they turn down jobs they're not suited for? It's not like he needs the money, and Lindelof has proven that he can come up with his own ideas. What is this jockish dismissal of superhero conventions intended to prove anyway? Does Lindelof imagine it makes him seem less nerdy? It's a bit too late for that, so what's it all about? The only people who give a fuck about the Lanterns TV series are Green Lantern fans. Why alienate them at the start? That feels more like 'stupid'.

Morrison would continue on:

'Green Lanterns' is a much more evocative and dramatic title than 'Lanterns', (just as 'Raise the Red Lantern' is a better movie title than 'Raise the Lantern'), and anyone who can't grasp why that is shouldn't be anywhere near superhero stories. The show might even be good, but how much better could this stuff be if studios were willing to hire the right people for the job instead of phoning their embarrassed friends to water the source material down? Hollywood will die of insularity and inbreeding.

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