The Lanterns trailer is here, and DC fans wasted no time picking it apart.
HBO released the first teaser for the upcoming DCU series starring Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, but instead of excitement across the board, a lot of the early reaction centered on one big complaint: where is the green?
The teaser leans heavily into the grounded detective-drama angle, with Hal and John investigating a mystery on Earth. The problem for some fans is that the footage barely shows the kind of Green Lantern spectacle they were expecting, including bright ring energy, big constructs, cosmic action, or a full superhero payoff.
Fans Roast The Lanterns Trailer
The backlash started almost immediately after the teaser hit social media.
A lot of fans said Lanterns looks more like a prestige crime drama than a Green Lantern show. The muted colors, small-town setting, and grounded tone led to comparisons to True Detective, Mayor of Kingstown, and other gritty cable dramas.
That might be exactly what HBO and DC Studios are going for, but it also created a disconnect with fans who wanted to see the Green Lantern Corps brought to life in a bigger, brighter way.
The most common complaint was simple: the trailer for a show called Lanterns did not look green enough.
Hal Jordan’s Suit Gets The Most Attention
The other big target was Hal Jordan’s suit.
Fans quickly started sharing edits of Kyle Chandler’s costume, adding brighter green, more contrast, and a more comic book-style look. The edits spread fast because they got right to the heart of the backlash: fans wanted the suit to pop.
The official version seen in the teaser appears much darker and more grounded, which fits the tone of the footage. But for a character powered by willpower and green light, the lack of strong color was always going to stand out.
Within minutes, fan edits were already making the suit look closer to what many expected from a live-action Hal Jordan.
Where Are The Ring Powers?
The suit was not the only issue.
The teaser also holds back on major ring action. There are no big space battles, no massive constructs, and no full Green Lantern Corps showcase. Instead, the footage focuses on Hal and John’s uneasy partnership, the Earth-based mystery, and the darker tone of the series.
For some viewers, that is the selling point. A grounded HBO mystery with Green Lantern mythology could be a smart way to avoid repeating the mistakes of the 2011 movie.
For others, it just looks like DC Studios is afraid to embrace the weird, cosmic, colorful side of Green Lantern.
James Gunn’s DCU Faces Another Fan Test
Lanterns is one of the biggest early tests for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU.
The series is expected to help build out the larger universe beyond Superman, with Hal Jordan and John Stewart investigating a mystery that could have major implications for the DCU going forward.
The cast is strong, the HBO format gives it credibility, and the detective angle could separate it from the usual superhero formula. But the first reaction also shows the risk of going too grounded with a property fans associate with outer space, alien worlds, glowing rings, and massive imagination-based powers.
Green Lantern is not Batman. Fans are not coming to this corner of DC for shadows, dirt roads, and muted colors. They want the ring. They want the glow. They want the impossible.
The Trailer May Be Holding Back
Of course, this is still only the first teaser.
HBO may be saving the bigger Green Lantern moments for later trailers or for the show itself. The lack of spectacle here does not mean the final series will avoid ring powers or cosmic visuals completely.
Still, first impressions matter, especially for a DCU series that needs to win over both general audiences and long-time Green Lantern fans.
Right now, the message from a lot of fans is clear: Lanterns needs more green.
