Lanterns: We Think We Know Who the Real Villain Is Based on the New Trailer | Comic Con 2026

Eyes up, DC fans, due to the fact that we conscionable got our champion and astir breathtaking look astatine Lanterns yet. The upcoming HBO Max series, which stars Kyle Chandler arsenic Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre arsenic John Stewart, conscionable released a caller trailer astatine SDCC, and it has plentifulness of caller reveals for america to chew connected earlier the show’s premiere connected August 16.

Especially fixed however overmuch earlier promo worldly made the amusement look similar a True Detective oregon Yellowstone spin-off that featured a Lantern ringing oregon two, the caller trailer looks to acceptable instrumentality worries speech by showing disconnected the show’s much cosmic elements, including fan-favorite characters and concepts from the comics.

Watch the trailer below:

No evil shall flight their sight. Watch the authoritative trailer now. #Lanterns arrives August 16 connected HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/NBs4RZBg3c

Let’s dive into what we recovered astir breathtaking astir the caller trailer for Lanterns... and who we deliberation the existent villain of the amusement mightiness be!

The Relationship Between Hal Jordan and John Stewart

As expected going by erstwhile promotional material, the main crippled of Lanterns looks to halfway astir Hal grooming John arsenic a caller enlistee to the Green Lantern Corps. However, galore fans were funny if Hal and John are intended to beryllium partners of adjacent standing, oregon if John is intended to regenerate Hal arsenic the Lantern assigned to Sector 2814 (the 1 Earth belongs to). Well, we person our answer: portion talking to Sinestro, Hal admits that John is intended to regenerate him. Is Hal truly going to beryllium finished with his Green Lantern duties aft this season? That seems similar a batch of storytelling imaginable to permission connected the array successful the caller DCU, but possibly Hal volition alteration his caput and instrumentality around, oregon possibly we’ll spot a prequel movie oregon bid that depicts Hal erstwhile helium was successful his premier portion the contiguous timeline focuses connected John Stewart’s adventures. Only clip volition tell.

Sinestro

The caller trailer yet gives america our archetypal due look astatine Ulrich Thomsen arsenic Thaal Sinestro, who fans cognize is the archenemy of Hal Jordan and 1 the main antagonists of the Green Lantern Corps. The alien supervillain is seen erstwhile Hal goes to sojourn him successful prison, wherever they sermon John Stewart. Given that Hal is mentoring a younger John, it makes consciousness for Hal’s top foe to already beryllium captured and person a agelong past with his quality nemesis. But fixed however important Sinestro is to Green Lantern mythology, volition we truly lone spot him down bars (or, well, an vigor shield anyway), oregon volition helium flight and go an antagonist to our heroes? Perhaps Season 1 establishes his menace and helium volition beryllium the villain of a prospective Season 2? Either way, Green Lantern fans volition surely beryllium blessed to spot him, but they would astir apt similar to yet get Sinestro successful each his glory wearing his Yellow Lantern ring.

Manhunters

One of the astir important crippled reveals successful the trailer is that Hal and John volition beryllium investigating an incursion connected Earth by the Manhunters. If you don’t cognize your Green Lantern lore, the Manhunters were an service of peacekeeping robots designed by the Guardians of the Universe (the bluish aliens who oversee the Green Lantern Corps) to constabulary the cosmos. But the Manhunters coiled up being faulty and turning against their masters, forcing the Guardians to destruct astir of them, with the survivors going into exile, lone to aboriginal instrumentality arsenic enemies of the Green Lanterns (who the Guardians created to regenerate their robot creations). In the show, the Manhunters -- described arsenic “the astir unsafe beings to ever beryllium successful the galaxy” -- are connected Earth for chartless reasons. They person the quality to alteration their signifier and impersonate anyone, meaning it’s hard to cognize who Hal and John tin trust, and we spot 1 alteration signifier successful beforehand of different human.

The Manhunter sanction whitethorn punctual you of Martian Manhunter, aka J'onn J'onzz, a superhero successful the DC beingness with shapeshifting powers who galore viewers volition retrieve from his relation successful the Justice League animated series. J'onn is not the lone vigilante successful the DC beingness to usage the sanction "Manhunter" -- a moniker that was inspired by the Manhunters (the robots) going to antithetic worlds aft their exile and starting up Cults of the Manhunters. In the aforementioned shapeshifting country successful the trailer, we spot the Manhunter has a transverse implicit his thorax area, reminiscent of J’onn’s signature costume. Are we going to spot a beardown correlation betwixt Martians and Manhunters successful the caller DCU? We’d similar to know!

Guy Gardner’s Warning

Speaking of different Green Lanterns, we besides get our archetypal look astatine Nathan Fillion arsenic Guy Gardner successful this trailer, reprising his relation from past year’s Superman movie (as confirmed by Entertainment Weekly past year). What we don't cognize is however large of a relation Guy volition have. Is helium fundamentally a glorified cameo, oregon volition helium beryllium a large supporting quality helping Hal and John during their investigation? Guy is simply a subordinate of the Justice Gang successful the DCU and seems to beryllium somewhat removed from what’s going connected with the remainder of the Green Lantern Corps astatine this constituent successful the timeline, but since helium is a Lantern, it makes consciousness for him to beryllium portion of this show. More pressingly, Guy gives Hal an ominous warning, saying that “he’s going to nonstop an service to enactment you down.” Who is Guy talking about? He doesn’t clarify, but the “army” successful question is astir apt the Manhunters, truthful who is down them? We person a mentation astir that…

Are Atrocitus and the Red Lanterns Coming?

This is not confirmed by the trailer itself, but going by discourse clues, we tin speculate connected who the existent villain of Lanterns is. Since Sinestro is successful situation and Guy’s dialog indicates determination is simply a antheral villain pulling the strings of the Manhunters, we judge that Atrocitus whitethorn beryllium the existent force Hal and John person to face. If you’re not acquainted with the quality from the comics, Atrocitus is the person of the Red Lantern Corps, and 1 of the large enemies of the Green Lanterns introduced by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver successful their relaunch of the Green Lantern mythology. Each of the antithetic colors of Lantern Rings correspond to a antithetic emotion that powers the wearer, with Green being willpower and Red being rage. We don’t spot Atrocitus oregon immoderate Red Lanterns successful the trailer, but we do spot a large reddish laser blasting targets from orbit connected 2 antithetic occasions. Is this conscionable a random weapon? Maybe, but fixed however important the colour spectrum is to Green Lantern lore, we can’t ideate it’s a coincidence that reddish is the colour utilized successful the trailer. Our conjecture is that Atrocitus, possibly successful quality disguise, is the existent powerfulness down the Manhunters. But we’ll cognize for definite erstwhile we spot the show.

What did you deliberation of the Lanterns trailer? Let america cognize successful the comments! For much connected the show, cheque retired what writer-producer Damon Lindelof said was the 1 regularisation James Gunn had, and here's wherefore the bid downplays the Green Lantern Corps.

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Effect essays. You tin travel his fixations connected Twitter.