Posted in: FX, HBO, Max, Movies, TV | Tagged: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, lanterns

Lanterns: Paddy's Pub in The DCU? Is Charlie Kelly a Green Lantern?

The premiere of HBO and DC Studios' Lanterns has us convinced that Paddy's Pub from FXX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is in the DCU.

It's something that's been bothering us since Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King's Aaron Pierre (John Stewart) and Kyle Chandler (Hal Jordan)-starring series Lanterns debuted a little more than two weeks ago… and we can't let it go. After we get a look at John's childhood and his father's rather "interesting" father-son activities, the action shifts to 2016. After getting in some workout time, we see John waiting for a very late Hal to pick him up. It's a great moment that quickly establishes the dynamic between the two, but we can't stop looking at the building John was waiting in front of for Hal. Are we the only ones who see Paddy's Pub, from FXX's Rob Mac, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson, and Danny DeVito-starring It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia? If that's the case, then the implications could be game-changing.

Of course, the easy path would be to say that both shows are filmed in Los Angeles (yup, the outside of Paddy's Pub is actually in Los Angeles), so it's not surprising that they would end up using the same locale if they were looking for the same vibe. But that's not nearly as much fun as running under the false assumption that it was all planned – and that John was secretly getting advice on how to be a Green Lantern from Space Sector 2814's bravest ring-wielder of all-time: Charlie Kelly (Day). Suddenly, "Green Man" takes on a whole new meaning: maybe it's less costume and more uniform? Maybe Charlie isn't dumb, but his mind has been altered from his time in space and saving the Earth? And don't get us started on how Frank (DeVito) could be Charlie's Guardian and Dennis (Howerton) could be the Manhunter in hiding (definitely a Red Lantern).

In terms of where this would fall on the "Always Sunny" timeline, 2016 would put things right in the middle of Season 11, which included "Chardee MacDennis 2: Electric Boogaloo," "Frank Falls Out the Window," "The Gang Hits the Slopes," "Dee Made a Smut Film," "Mac & Dennis Move to the Suburbs," "Being Frank," "McPoyle vs. Ponderosa: The Trial of the Century," "Charlie Catches a Leprechaun," "The Gang Goes to Hell," and "The Gang Goes to Hell: Part Two." We're thinking John may have stopped in for some words of wisdom from Charlie before the two-episode season finale.

Thankfully, the fine folks over at HBO Max and DC Studios left up the video of the first five minutes of the premiere episode of the DCU series, with our case being made for us beginning at around the 3:55 mark):

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