It seems James Gunn’s new DCU has found its Batman v Superman problem much sooner than expected. Lanterns premiered on HBO with Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan mentoring Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart through a murder investigation in Nebraska, only to end with a 2026 jump that finds Hal apparently dead and his Green Lantern ring missing. Even the creative team knew killing Hal this early was incendiary; co-creator Tom King discussed (via GQ) the decision after the premiere, while Kyle Chandler described the development as a “big punch in the mouth.”
Some fans have taken that punch badly. One reaction on X delivered the accusation that cuts straight to the controversy: “Whatever this is, this is not Green Lantern.” The criticism went beyond Hal’s apparent death, taking aim at the swearing, s*xual content, and the series’ broader treatment of Green Lantern mythology. Different decade, different DC regime, but Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice veterans may recognize this argument.
Some Fans Say Lanterns Has Lost Its Green Lantern DNA
The frustration surrounding Lanterns comes from several creative decisions arriving at once. Green Lantern has decades of cosmic mythology at its disposal, from the Corps and Oa to bizarre alien Lanterns and enormous intergalactic conflicts. The series deliberately keeps much of its story on Earth, using Hal and John as investigators inside a murder mystery rather than immediately leaning into Green Lantern’s wider cosmic mythology. For viewers wanting DC’s space cops unleashed at full throttle, that restraint was always going to rub someone the wrong way. Another viewer on X complained
Here are a few fans comments:
Lanterns is a drab depressing show that disrespects the entirety of Hal Jordan's run as Green Lantern.
— Starship ᐰlves 🚀 (@StarshipAlves) August 18, 2026
More slop made by people not really interested in making a superhero show. It's like they recycled some old detective show script and ran it through Grok and said "make it a… pic.twitter.com/v8NayxktlJ
Lanterns is BORING as hell. Not surprised Tom King is involved directly. Such hyper-inflated attempts at an "intellectual" story, when it's just playing on the "mystery murder in a small town" trope.
— Article 3 BILL OF RIGHTS (@BorgoniaBorgy) August 17, 2026
If this was a Batman or street-level IP, that could work. Outer Space cops who… pic.twitter.com/qizKTVTLhO
Wow Lanterns is awful. DC what you doin?!? pic.twitter.com/kQTt0YEHXi
— NortonSinclair (@SinclairNorton) August 17, 2026
Even John’s adult characterization has attracted attention. The premiere gives him a s*xual encounter with Zoe, played by Poorna Jagannathan, another choice that pushes HBO’s interpretation toward mature character drama rather than conventional superhero television. Pierre defended that side of John as part of portraying him as a complicated human being rather than an immaculate hero (via Decider).
Still, calling the reception universally hostile would be cooking the books. GQ praised the reinvention, while Den of Geek responded positively to Chandler and Pierre’s detective partnership. The controversy, then, concerns identity more than quality: how much Green Lantern can you remove or rearrange before fans decide the name on the tin no longer matches what is inside?
Batman v Superman Fought the Same DC Battle
That question haunted Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman in 2016. Zack Snyder offered an older Batman whose methods were considerably more brutal than many mainstream audiences expected, alongside Henry Cavill’s increasingly burdened Superman. The movie pursued a brooding, confrontational interpretation of DC mythology and paid dearly with critics. Rotten Tomatoes later summarized the divide around BVS as unusually fierce, with critics objecting to an overwrought, overlong film while its audience reception remained substantially warmer.
Well, BVS was criticized for far more than darkness, including its crowded plotting and attempts to establish a wider cinematic universe. Yet arguments over whether Snyder fundamentally understood Batman and Superman became inseparable from its reputation. Now Lanterns has wandered onto familiar turf. The irony is deliciously awkward for Gunn’s DCU. A franchise built after the Snyder era is once again asking audiences to accept radical reinterpretations of DC icons, and some fans are answering with the oldest complaint in the comic-book playbook: “This is not Green Lantern.”
I think one episode is far too early to throw the book at Lanterns. Hal’s death is part of a larger mystery, and the premiere has intentionally left several cards face down. If the season earns its audacity, this controversy could age very differently. If it does not, Gunn may discover exactly why reinventing beloved superheroes has always been DC’s most dangerous tightrope.
What about you? Drop your take below, and follow FandomWire for more DCU updates.
Lanterns streams on HBO Max.
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