HBO's new series 'Lanterns' immediately established a narrative structure that plays with time, drawing comparisons to shows like 'True Detective' and 'Watchmen'. The series primarily unfolds in 2016, but its opening sequence jumps back to 1996, introducing a younger Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern and a boy named John Stewart. The narrative then leaps forward to 2026 for a stark cliffhanger.
In the 2016 timeline, Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler, has been training John Stewart, portrayed by Aaron Pierre, as a backup Green Lantern for approximately two months. Their partnership is put to the test when they investigate a mass shooting in Rushville, Nebraska. Hal's intuition suggests alien involvement, and working with Sheriff Kerry (Kelly Macdonald), they apprehend a suspect. Hal eventually tricks the alien into revealing its nature and its mission of "war" and "vengeance." The alien then activates a self-destruct device woven into its skeleton, but Hal manages to contain the blast with his Green Lantern ring.
The series then shifts to a snowy night in 2026. An older John Stewart, sporting a goatee, meets Sheriff Kerry at the ruins of the Rushville football stadium. There, they discover Hal Jordan dead, frozen in the snow with a bullet wound to the forehead. John notices that Hal is not wearing his Green Lantern ring. This pivotal scene, underscored by the melancholic song "Knievel" by Scud Mountain Boys, suggests Hal Jordan's seemingly inevitable demise.
Despite the apparent death, the nature of a comic book adaptation leaves room for interpretation. Showrunners Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King have stated that Hal Jordan's death was a foundational concept for the series, conceived from the outset as a murder mystery where one of the central Green Lanterns is the victim. Lindelof explained that this decision was made to infuse the story with emotional weight and to explore the mortality beneath Hal's confident exterior, even as the 2016 timeline allows for the development of his partnership with John.
Furthermore, Kyle Chandler's role in the series is not necessarily concluded. The time-jumping structure allows for Hal's presence in flashbacks and potentially through a "Halogram"—a digital backup of his consciousness stored in his ring. This means Hal could continue to appear throughout the series and potentially in other DC Universe projects in this digital form.
Regarding John Stewart's future, Aaron Pierre is confirmed to reprise the role in the 2027 film 'Man of Tomorrow.' In the 2026 scene of 'Lanterns,' John is seen without a Green Lantern ring on his hand, even when performing ordinary actions like drinking. This detail, along with his examination of Hal's empty hand, suggests that while John Stewart is destined to become a Green Lantern, that future may not have fully arrived by the 2026 point in the narrative, or he may be using a different ring than Hal's.