HBO’s Lanterns Season 2 Fate Officially Addressed By Creator After James Gunn DC Exit

Lanterns season 2’s fate gets an update.

Lanterns is one of the two live-action DC TV shows that have been released in the new DC Universe so far, with the other being John Cena’s Peacemaker season 2. Lanterns‘ cast of characters featured the DCU debut of Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart, with the latter set to appear in 2027’s Superman movie sequel, Man of Tomorrow, where he should meet again with Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, another human Green Lantern who showed up in the HBO detective sci-fi series. Despite breaking viewership records, Lanterns‘ fate hangs in the balance, and now James Gunn and Peter Safran are out of DC.

Speaking to The Playlist at a Lanterns FYC event, showrunner Chris Mundy expressed surprise over Gunn and Safran’s DC Studios exit, addressing the show’s season 2 chances. Gunn and Safran are being replaced by Skydance leadership after the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger, with Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel Studios executive with years of superhero movie experience, taking over. According to Mundy, the DC team was taken aback by the sudden change after the merger, and he could see a future where Lanterns‘ run is cut short due to that. However, Mundy ends by keeping season 2 hopes alive. Check out the full quote below:

“We thought everything had settled [after the merger]. I can imagine a world where everyone retreats to their corners, but then, you know, it’s a coin flip, 50/50.”

Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre in Lanterns

Lanterns season 1 aired its finale on HBO and HBO Max on October 4. Given how the show broke viewership records throughout season 1, including standing among the five biggest TV show premieres in HBO Max history with 9.3 million viewers worldwide in its first three days across HBO and HBO Max, the fact that DC and HBO have not yet announced a season 2 renewal has been a topic of debate. The major shift at DC Studios likely explains why that delay has happened, as Latcham will now establish a new future plan for DC, figuring out if Lanterns fits in it.

Despite not having a formal green light, the Lanterns season 2 writers’ room has been open for months, being led by Mundy, as the writers working on the possible new season explore where the story and certain DC characters could go next. Lanterns season 1 ended with the reveal of who killed Chandler’s Hal Jordan, who was not resurrected, and Pierre’s John Stewart taking his place as Earth’s Green Lantern, doing so on his own terms, separately from the Green Lantern Corps. Fillion’s Guy Gardner saw his DCU role change in connection to that, as he is now supposed to be a purely cosmic hero, leaving Earth behind.

Lanterns season 2 could explore the fallout of whatever John and Guy get up to when fighting Brainiac alongside other DCU heroes in 2027’s Man of Tomorrow. The show’s new season could also either find a way to resurrect Hal Jordan, given how Chandler’s character was the HBO series’ fan-favorite, or shift the focus entirely to other Green Lanterns. For now, Mundy is split on Lanterns‘ season 2 chances, and it will all come down to what new DC Studios head Jeremy Latcham envisions for the future of the franchise, which will reportedly be more focused on major characters.