James Gunn has released a new Lanterns poster teasing, “Only one can wear the ring,” while confirming the HBO Max series premieres in August.
The poster, paired with a short motion teaser shared by Gunn on social media, has instantly reignited the backlash that has been following the show ever since the first footage and images dropped.
New Lanterns poster adds more fuel to the fire
The biggest thing fans are latching onto is the tagline itself.
“Only one can wear the ring” is already causing more debate online because one of the main complaints aimed at Lanterns has been that Hal Jordan and John Stewart don’t appear to be positioned the way fans expected.
Earlier reactions to the teaser questioned why the series seemed to be downplaying the larger Green Lantern mythology, the Corps, and even the basic idea of multiple human Lanterns.
More divisiveness from Gunn’s DCU
The new poster isn’t calming any of that down. If anything, it’s doing the opposite.
That lines up with the reaction to the first trailer and follow-up stills, which many fans said made Lanterns look more like a grounded rural crime series than a true Green Lantern adaptation.
A lot of the criticism centered on the lack of bright green visuals, big constructs, cosmic scale, and the kind of spectacle people normally associate with the property.
Fans still aren’t sold on the grounded approach
The pushback started when the first teaser and images made clear that Lanterns is taking a stripped-down approach focused on mystery, character drama, and an Earth-based investigation involving Hal Jordan and John Stewart.
The direction has continued to divide fans, especially those who wanted the series to lean harder into the sci-fi side of Green Lantern.
One theory previously floated is that the show may be unfolding across multiple time periods, which could help explain some of the confusion around Hal Jordan’s role and why the series seems to be presenting him differently than expected.
But even with that possibility, the backlash hasn’t really gone away. The new poster is only reopening the same arguments.
Lanterns will be released in August on HBO Max.
Watch the trailer:
