Posted in: HBO, Movies, TV | Tagged: dc studios, green lantern, james gunn, lanterns

Lanterns "Very Grounded, Very Believable, Very Real"; Gunn on Casting

James Gunn had huge praise for Lanterns, its creators (Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, Tom King), and stars Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler.

Normally, our updates on Chris Mundy (True Detective: Night Country, Ozark), Damon Lindelof (Watchmen, The Leftovers), and Tom King's (Mister Miracle, Supergirl) Aaron Pierre (John Stewart) and Kyle Chandler (Hal Jordan)-starring Green Lanterns series Lanterns have revolved around casting. Along with Pierre and Chandler, we've learned that Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire, In the Line of Duty), Garret Dillahunt (Fear The Walking Dead), and Poorna Jagannathan (Never Have I Ever, Deli Boys) have joined the cast. But now, Gunn if offering us some deeper insights into the series – including when he expects it to hit screens, the "very grounded, very believable, very real" series that Mundy, King, and Lindelof created, why Pierre and Chandler were right for the lead roles, and more.

Noting that Lanterns and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow would most likely be coming out at "around the same time" (which could mean around the beginning to middle of 2026), Gunn added that "we're getting ready to go" regarding production on the Green Lanterns series. After jokingly acting shocked that fans would have an opinion on casting, Gunn had some strong praise for not just the actors but also the creative team and what Gunn has seen so far during an interview with IGN that went live earlier today.

"The truth is Chris [Mundy] and Tom [King] and Damon [Lindelof] wrote an amazing series, like an incredible series. I'm so excited for people to see this. It's very grounded, very believable, very real. The kind of things that you would never think that would be the truth about a Green Lanterns television series. And very human, adult, and wonderful. And the story that they wrote fit a couple of actors who were of these ages and so that's who they cast. Those were their choices. I totally backed them up. I love them," Gunn shared about the HBO series. "So I'm really excited for people to see what those guys have come up with. But everything is to serve the story. The story is always first. The scripts are always first. And we would never be making this show if Chris and the guys hadn't turned in wonderful, beautiful scripts."

Lanterns: A Look Back at Some Things We Know So Far…

"Finally can talk about what I've been working on for the past year and more. From DC Studios and Warner Bros, we're bringing 'Lanterns' to HBO," King began his Instagram post from June, addressing the news much more openly than he could previously – even after Gunn confirmed that he would be working on the series. "Chris, Damon, and I created it; Chris is writing and running it while Damon and I write and executive produce. I like to think of it as from the creators of 'Ozark,' HBO's 'Watchmen,' and, of course, Batman meets Elmer Fudd."

He continued, "We're working with a dream team writer's room, putting together something thrilling and epic and intimate and grounded and funny and true—a superhero show that brings together the glories of the comics with the excellence of an HBO prestige drama. It's such an honor to work on these characters, to build on what titans John Broome, Gil Kane, Denny O'Neil, and my old pal (and Batman/Fudd fan), Neal Adams created. We're endlessly inspired by and grateful for the creativity of so many Lantern comic creators from 1940 to this Wednesday." Before closing, King added a personal perspective to the news: "On a personal level, my late mother was a Warner exec: being back on her lot, building something cool that she'd love—it feels real special."

When the series was first announced, Safran noted that the series would play a major role in their New DCU. Comparing it to "a huge HBO-quality event" along the lines of "True Detective," the "Green Lantern" series is set to focus on Hal Jordan and John Stewart – who investigate a mystery that Safran said during the initial rollout "plays a really big role leading us into the main story that we're telling across our film and television. So this is a very important show for us." James Hawes (Slow Horses, Penny Dreadful) has been tapped to helm the opening chapters of the series.

At the top of the panel for Creature Commandos from October 2024 during New York Comic Con 2024 (NYCC 2024), DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn briefly discussed the series and noted how they were "getting ready to shoot that." Later, moderator Josh Horowitz (Happy Sad Confused) asked Gunn for an update on a number of DC Studios projects. In terms of Lanterns, Gunn shared how Pierre was someone he's wanted to work with for a while (noting that he was a finalist to play Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3). In terms of Pierre and Chandler's screen test, Gunn described it as one of the "miraculous moments" when you see two actors connect and it goes beyond even what they're talking about. As for the series itself, Gunn shared how smoothly the series came together while working with Mundy, Lindelof, and King and that – despite its potentially epic nature – the series is very grounded and "very real."

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