The Green Lantern Corps Returns to Live Action
As James Gunn’s DCU continues to take shape, 2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for DC fans. With multiple interconnected movies and shows on the horizon, excitement is building. One of the most highly anticipated projects is Lanterns, the HBO series that will finally give the Green Lantern mythos the live-action spotlight it deserves.
The show is significant not only because it marks the Green Lantern Corps’ return to live action for the first time since 2011’s critically maligned Green Lantern movie. It also revisits a concept that almost emerged during Zack Snyder’s DCEU. Years before James Gunn’s reboot, Snyder had plans to introduce his own Lantern, one who never made it onscreen.
Following Guy Gardner’s appearance in Superman, Lanterns will bring Hal Jordan to the forefront, played by Kyle Chandler. More exciting still, he will not be alone. The series will also introduce John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, the Green Lantern Zack Snyder nearly included in his own version of the Justice League, finally realizing a long-abandoned idea.
Zack Snyder’s Plans for John Stewart
A Missed Opportunity for the DCEU
Zack Snyder’s Justice League ended with a moment that felt designed to expand the DCEU’s cosmic scale. Bruce Wayne meets Martian Manhunter, who hints that greater threats are coming. Originally, that scene was meant to feature a Green Lantern instead, specifically John Stewart, played by Wayne T. Carr.
Snyder has confirmed that Wayne’s visitor was initially planned to be John Stewart, not Martian Manhunter. The idea was to close the film by quietly introducing a new hero, signaling that the Justice League was about to grow beyond its core lineup. It would have been the DCEU’s first proper Green Lantern appearance.
John Stewart was a deliberate choice. Unlike Hal Jordan, who had already appeared in the 2011 film, Stewart is closely associated with animated series like Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. For many fans introduced to the Justice League through these shows, he is the Green Lantern. Snyder’s plan tapped directly into that familiarity.
Why John Stewart Was Cut from Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Studio Decisions and Creative Oversights
The absence of a Green Lantern in the Snyderverse Justice League was never a creative oversight. It was the result of several behind-the-scenes decisions, many stemming from hesitation following the failure of 2011’s Green Lantern, which starred Hal Jordan, played by Ryan Reynolds. That film’s poor reception made Warner Bros. wary of committing to the character again.
At the time, the studio was reportedly attempting to develop a standalone Green Lantern reboot separate from Snyder’s films. Allowing Justice League to introduce John Stewart would have forced those plans to align, something Warner Bros. was unwilling to do. The character was effectively placed in limbo.
This left Zack Snyder in a difficult position. His version of the Justice League leaned heavily into DC’s cosmic mythology, especially with Darkseid looming as an antagonist. In the comics, Green Lanterns are central to conflicts of that scale, often acting as the universe’s first line of defense.
The Future of the Green Lantern Corps
A New Era for the DCU
The Green Lanterns are foundational to DC Comics, rivaling the Justice League itself in narrative importance. From sprawling space operas to deeply personal character stories, the Corps has fueled decades of iconic arcs across comics and animation. Their limited live-action success has always felt like an anomaly.
Lanterns represents a deliberate course correction. Rather than rushing a cinematic reboot, the DCU is introducing the mythology through a grounded HBO series. That format allows time to explore Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and the broader implications of the Corps without the pressure of a single blockbuster.
Bringing John Stewart into the DCU also carries cultural and narrative weight. He is not a secondary option to Hal Jordan but a co-equal hero with his own history, worldview, and fanbase. His delayed arrival in live action has only increased anticipation.
After years of false starts, the DCU is finally positioning Green Lantern as essential rather than experimental. By revisiting and expanding upon an idea the Snyderverse could not execute, Lanterns is turning a long-standing frustration into a defining strength.
For DC fans, this moment has been a long time coming. In 2026, the Green Lanterns are no longer an afterthought, they are finally taking their place at the center of the live-action DC universe, and it all begins with Lanterns.
Network HBO
Directors James Hawes
Writers Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof
Aaron Pierre
John Stewart
