HBO's Lanterns Continues DC's Best New Trend With Official Podcast As Host Juju Green Teases Big Reveals

The DC Universe is taking its next major story to HBO.

The DCU’s Chapter 1: “Gods and Monsters” slate is finally giving the Green Lantern mythology its biggest spotlight yet in live-action. While audience members got a taste in 2025’s Superman with Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, HBO will soon be the home for the Green Lantern Corps, as DC Studios is getting ready to expand their presence in James Gunn’s franchise.

Lanterns is only days away from its series premiere on HBO, and DC Studios is another major element for the superhero adventure, as Juju Green, also well-known as Straw Hat Goofy, is hosting The Lanterns Official Podcast. ScreenRant is exclusively sharing the first trailer for the upcoming podcast, featuring several major guests who will be no strangers to viewers. Check both the trailer below and key art above:

ScreenRant’s Grant Hermanns interviewed The Lanterns Official Podcast host Juju Green to discuss hosting the weekly companion piece, which will feature in-depth interviews with the show’s co-creators, writers, directors, as well as stars of the HBO drama. A new individual episode will be live after each installment has aired, with the podcast being available to watch on HBO Max and YouTube, along with numerous podcast platforms. Throughout the interview, Green opens up about going from being a fan of the DC legend to hosting weekly chats with the team behind it.

The Official Lanterns Podcast Was A True Collaboration Between DC & Juju Green

John Stewart and Hal Jordan at a bar in HBO's Lanterns — John Stewart and Hal Jordan at a bar in HBO’s Lanterns

ScreenRant: You’ve done many face-to-face interviews with big-name talent, and hosted panels at major conventions. Even still, it’s a really big deal to be hosting a DC official companion podcast. What was sort of going through your mind when that ink finally got signed and you were like, “All right, the time is now”?

Juju Green: Oh man, it’s so hard to describe because, like you said, I have sat in front of talent before. I’ve hosted big panels before, most recently at San Diego Comic-Con. But an official DC podcast to a show that I’m anticipating so much from — it’s the first appearance of John Stewart in live-action, it’s the first look at a Green Lantern, which we’ve been waiting for since 2012, in live-action. It was very surreal to put that ink to paper and say, “Yes, we’re doing this. We’re gonna film multiple episodes. We’re gonna watch every episode, talk about every episode.” It’s insane, man. And the talent that was there. The set itself is absolutely insane. As someone who is a big fan of the color green, not just because my last name is green [chuckles], but as someone who’s a big fan of that [color], just to walk onto that set every day, I just had to pinch myself and wonder, “How the hell did I even get put in this position?” It’s definitely different than anything else that I’ve ever done. But I’m really excited for other people to see it and other people to see not just myself geek out, but the talent behind the camera geek out, as well. That’s always the most fun part of these conversations.

ScreenRant: This is also a big deal in terms of the last DC official podcast was hosted by none other than James Gunn, Steve Agee, and Jennifer Holland themselves for Peacemaker season 2. I’d love to hear, first and foremost, how it was that you came to be in the conversation and to get the job. Are you that big of a DC super fan that you had been pitching it with everybody you could find connected to the show, or did they approach you?

Juju Green: Yeah, they approached me for the job, which was very surprising, because I am a big DC fan, but I feel like a lot of people don’t know that as much, because usually, I came up on TikTok talking about Marvel things and [general] comic book things. But I haven’t really had a chance to really flex my knowledge of DC in a big way, such as this, so the fact that they even heard that I was a DC fan was already just kind of like, “Oh wow, how did you even hear about that?” But then the other part, it just came with this exciting opportunity to finally flex those chops. And when they said, “Oh yeah, man! We’ve seen your interviews. We love the way you break down things.” I guess they just saw something where they watch my content, they saw that I love deep diving into things. I love watching prestige television. I love watching superhero content, so this was just the perfect marriage between the two because, without spoiling anything, Lanterns is just one of those things that is the perfect marriage between prestige TV and superherodom that you can break down, not just from a filmmaking perspective, but from a very nerdy fandom, comic book perspective. So, I’m just really happy that they thought of me and approached me for this, because this was always going to be a yes. [Laughs] I just didn’t know if they were going to ask me.

ScreenRant: So, in collaborating with everyone involved, both the creatives that you had in every episode, as well as everybody behind the scenes, what was it like having those discussions of, “Hey, this is what I’d love to discuss.” Obviously, they’ve seen your content, so they know your personality, your brand of humor, all that. But what was it like finding that creative rhythm with everyone to make this as much yours as it is HBO and DC’s?

Juju Green: Yeah, no, I think the word you use is 100% correct. Collaboration — that’s the key word. Working with everyone behind the camera, the producers and everyone, they’re such a great team over there that they didn’t make me feel like I was coming in to take care of their precious baby. It is their precious baby, but they also gave me some ownership on where to take the conversation. The research team, the editors, the producers, the cameraman, the lighting, the makeup, everybody just was on full 100. In terms of the behind-the-scenes talent of the show, that was truly a gift. Whenever I do my interviews, I like to frame them up as conversations, so it really felt cool to have just nonstop conversations, and being given the leeway from the team over at DC to have these conversations, because that’s where I feel like you get the best soundbites. That’s where I feel like you get the best — for lack of a better word — conversation from the show. That’s where you get the really true good nuggets from what we’ve all watched. It’s just a bunch of people who had just watched, or in this case, worked on a show where we’re looking at each other and going, “Oh yeah, let’s talk about it!” It’s like when you go to a movie and then you sit in the parking lot for an hour or two just to talk about what you just saw. [Chuckles] So, it was definitely that type of energy, and I couldn’t have been happier to do it with such a great group of people. We’re just a couple of adults nerding out about things that we either worked on or witnessed. We do that every day, so it’s really cool to do that in a professional setting, in an official capacity. But that’s where the authenticity comes from, and I feel like the fans who will tune into this will feel that authenticity, and really gravitate towards the conversations, and have their own conversations. That’s the most important part about what they’ve watched, as well.

One Lanterns Episode Comes With A Lot Of Unpacking & An All-Time Level Of Hype

ScreenRant: Obviously, you have seen the Lanterns episodes. I don’t want to get you in trouble for saying anything about them, apart from that I would just love to hear your reaction to them.

Juju Green: Yeah, dude, it’s unlike any other superhero media that I’ve ever seen. I think the closest — and I know a lot of people are gonna say like, “Oh, is it as good as? So, this is what we have to like strive for — it reminds me very much of The Penguin, and how that show was framed up. Where you can put anybody onto that show, even if you’re not a Batman fan, you’re looking at a mafia series. That’s what it is at its core. With Lanterns, I really loved it, and it’s hard to adapt Lanterns in this way. Green Lanterns is one of the more fantastical, science-fictiony properties that is out there in D.C. They’re space cops, for god’s sakes. [Laughs] But to make this show as grounded as it is, and make it True Detective meets Training Day meets Fargo, that just so happens to have Green Lanterns at their center, I really loved how they highlight the character and their decision-making. There are a lot of green bubbles. [Chuckles] There are a lot of green constructs, you will get a lot of that. You will get a lot of those pieces and nuggets that you love from the DC Green Lantern lore. But at the very heart of the show, it’s about two guys, and you’re trying to figure out whether or not they can work together. That is the best part about the show is that it uses its groundedness in the best way that it can in order to tell a very gritty, grounded story that tackles just many different subjects. But you’ll never lose sight that this is still a Green Lantern show, and I think that balance is hard to do. I think they did it, and I’m really excited for other people to see how they did it.

ScreenRant: So, in talking about unpacking these episodes with the creatives you have, again, not to discount any episode this season, but is there one episode that you found you really had to sit there and be like, “How do I unpack this all?”

Juju Green: Episode 3. Episode 3 is, to me — I think a lot of people are going to hail it as one of the best episodes of television of the year, and I know that might be hyperbole. I know people are going to hype it up. Just from my perspective, what that show does is very reminiscent of what the Watchmen series did a couple years ago. For those who know, there’s a certain episode that was the cream of the crop of this. Same writer, as well, Vanessa Baden Kelly is the writer on this one. Stephen Williams, the director on this one, they 100% knock it out the park. And I will say that it is one of the best explorations of a character that I feel will get a lot of conversation started around the Green Lanterns, what is fear, and those type of things. So, episode 3 is the one. As soon as you said, “Which episode?” I was like, that is the episode that I think a lot of us are going to look out for as one of the best episodes of the year, for sure.

ScreenRant: Obviously, podcast episodes have a little more flexibility with timing, but how did you specifically go about finding ways to ensure that they weren’t turning into three-hour conversations with everyone, but still staying fluid enough that they could be, like you say, conversations rather than just generic plot breakdowns from everyone?

Juju Green: Yeah, that’s a really good question. Obviously, we have normal conversations, and especially when you’re in a flow state with a buddy of yours, or somebody that you’re really clicking with, you can sit there and talk for hours, and the best conversations are when you talk for hours. Like, hello, 2 a.m. conversations are the best, right? [Chuckles] But with this particular show, staying focused was a challenge, because there is a lot to unpack, and there is a lot that we get excited about, and things that we wish that we can dive into a little bit more. But it’s the excitement that really helped us, of like, “Okay, let’s talk about this really quick, that’s gonna lead us into this, and that’s gonna lead us into that.” I think how to keep it concise, that’s always gonna be the biggest challenge. But I think we really like struck a really great balance of talking about the full episode, while also leaving time to really gush over the things that we really wanted to talk about. It’s just a matter of discipline. I think that’s the best word to describe it. It’s a matter of discipline. Sometimes, even though you can talk, you got schedules to keep, and you got to say like, “Hey, maybe next time.” But then also, you know that touching on something is going to start a larger conversation online, anyway, right? So, I think we were fully aware that a lot of people are going to be watching this are online, those conversations are going to happen in the chat rooms, the comment section, and those videos on TikTok. So, it’s also a lot of trust to know, like, “Hey, we didn’t get to this, but we’ll keep the conversation going in other ways, as well.”

A Particular Group Of Lanterns Podcast Guests Took Green By Surprise

Juju Green holding up the lantern and pointing his ring toward it in Lanterns official podcast

ScreenRant: You talk about the set, and the green nature of the set and how much you were vibrating with excitement stepping onto that set. What can you tease about the design of the set they utilized for this podcast?

Juju Green: It’s very green. [Laughs] It’s a very green set, but there’s also an air of beauty to it, as well. It’s a beauty that I feel goes hand in hand with the Lanterns, the otherworldly nature of it. It’s pristine. It’s almost like what Dorothy felt when she went to the Emerald City for the first time. And just just being there, I think it’s one of the most iconic podcasting studios that I’ve ever like walked into, and it makes you feel like you’re part of the world. It makes you feel like you, yourself, could be a Lantern, and I just gotta say, every time I walked onto it, it felt like my own little slice of home. You know, it just felt it just felt great.

ScreenRant: Very final question for you. Again, not to discount any of the guests that you had on the podcast, but I am curious if there was anybody that took you by surprise, whether it was with a story they shared from the set, or just the energy that they brought to the conversation?

Juju Green: You know, I have a cliché answer, and then I have a real answer. [Chuckles] Getting being able to talk to Chris Mundy, Damian Lindelof, and Tom King together, that in and of itself was a special treat, because they’re titans in their respective fields and job markets, right? Tom King, one of the best writers in the game when it comes to comics; Damon Lindelof, with his work on Watchmen, with Lost, everybody in their job, they know what they’re doing. But seeing them all interact together, and geek out together, and talk about what they did in order to make the show what it is, all their respective geniuses coming together to make this show, I could just sit back and just listen to them just talk. They’re so personable, and they’re so down to Earth, and they’re so cool.

So, I would have to say, those three getting to talk to them was one of the most surprising because there’s no pretentious bone in their body. They’re just fans of what they do, and they’re really good at what they do. They’re really students of the craft, every craft. So yeah, that was really good. But then I have to say this, Aaron Pierre, being able to talk to him about John Stewart, and this was my first time ever talking to him in this official capacity. It was just like talking to a friend, or a cousin. He’s super passionate about it, and he’s so locked in, and he’s so dialed in. And I’m just gonna say this: watching him be John Stewart gave me the same feeling I got when I was watching Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, or Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. I cannot see anybody better suited for the role after having him see it. It’s inseparable, and the way he uses stillness and his demeanor and his aura, the man’s just got an amazing aura, on and off camera. So yeah, I think between those three and Aaron Pierre, those were the guests that really surprised me and were the biggest joys to talk to, for sure.

Lanterns premieres on Sunday, August 16, on HBO.