James Gunn talked the upcoming ‘Lanterns’ TV show, revealing details about its release schedule and casting choices.
In an interview, the writer-director-producer explained where the newly cast ‘Green Lantern‘ series fits into the schedule. “It’s actually Creature Commandos, ‘Superman’, ‘Peacemaker’, ‘Lanterns’, ‘Supergirl’” Gunn said. “And then some stuff that people don’t know.”
He noted that ‘Lanterns’ will debut before ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,‘ which is set to hit theaters on June 26, 2026. “We’ll see when it comes out, but it’s around the same time,” Gunn added. “We’re getting ready to start production on ‘Lanterns’.”
Of course, some fans were complaining over the casting of Chandler, who will be playing an older version of Hal Jordan than is typically seen. To this Gunn laughed, saying, “Wait a second, comic book fans had an opinion on casting. What are you talking about!?”
He elaborated on the casting decisions, saying, “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 also praised the leads, highlighting Pierre’s casting. He revealed that Pierre was almost cast as Adam Warlock in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘ but ultimately lost the role to Will Poulter. Gunn said he had long wanted to work with Pierre and praised Kyle’s performance as Hal Jordan, saying, “Kyle is amazing.”
“So I’m really excited for people to see what those guys have come up with,” said Gunn. “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’ will mark the first live-action show under Gunn and Safran’s leadership. The lineup will expand in the coming years with Season 2 of ‘Peacemaker,’ ‘Booster Gold,’ ‘Waller,’ and the Wonder Woman prequel series ‘Paradise Lost.’
