Lanterns Showrunner Breaks Down the Series’ Alternate Timeline Twist

HBO has been quietly building its Green Lantern play, and now we finally have real details. Creator and showrunner Chris Mundy just explained how the series bends time, why Aaron Pierre is their John Stewart, and where things stand on release. Filming is done. The date is not. Expect it next year on HBO Max.

Big swing: multiple time periods, one John Stewart

Talking to Men’s Health, Mundy said the show doesn’t just hop around in time, it lives in a few different eras. That means John Stewart is not the same guy in every timeframe, but he still has to feel like the same person underneath. That’s the tightrope the show is walking.

"Our story takes place in a couple of different time periods, and so the challenge was for the characters be consistent at their core."

Mundy credits Aaron Pierre with stitching those eras together. He specifically pointed to Pierre’s presence and physicality as the glue that makes the shifting versions of John click, even when the character is at a different point in his life. The theater background helps too: that training shows up in the tiny choices and the big swings, from action to the quieter emotional beats.

Where this sits in the new DCU

This one is a pillar of James Gunn’s new DC Universe slate. It stars Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, with Kyle Chandler playing Hal Jordan. Yes, Kyle Chandler as Hal is an unexpected bit of casting, and I’m curious to see how they deploy him alongside Pierre’s take on Stewart.

Production status and release timing

Cameras are down. Filming has wrapped, but HBO has not circled a premiere date yet. The expectation right now is next year on HBO Max.

"It was an enormous shoot. It was of a grand scale in every sense of the word."

That’s Pierre, in Esquire, summing up what they just pulled off.