‘Lanterns’ Creators On OMG First Episode Ending With Hal Jordan

Warning: This podcast and write-up has spoilers about the ending of tonight’s first episode of HBO/DC’s Lanterns

We can’t even say it in a blunt, straight sentence.

But, first episode in, something crazy happened to Kyle Chandler’s O.G. Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, in a time jump. It’s an outcome that sets up for an interesting timeline for the rest of the season. And we haven’t even seen him fully train the Green Lantern’s back-up guardian for Earth, Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart. In addition, Lanterns hasn’t taken us to space out, nor has it rolled out Sinestro or Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner.

On tonight’s special episode of Crew Call, Lanterns co-creators and EPs Chris Mundy, Tom King, and Damon Lindelof unpack that shocker ending for Jordan, and how and why the trio teamed up to revive Green Lantern for the new DC under James Gunn and Peter Safran.

What’s interesting is this: We’re given a hint about Jordan’s ultimate fate at the onset of tonight’s episode. That’s when he appears as a digital carbon copy (or “back-up”) to Stewart following the latter’s survival from a car-crash. That was a major tip-off as to how tonight’s episode would end. Why did Mundy, King and Lindelof leave a breadcrumb? Listen below.

Jordan might have his doubts about whether Stewart has the grit to wear the ring of a Green Lantern, but from the looks of it, he did quite well after having the jewelry tossed at him by the former. It was then that Jordan jumped out of the car, as it careened with Stewart off a cliff. The new recruit powered the ring to provide a cushion from the crash.

But, it’s clear as Jordan proved to local sheriff Kerry (Kelly Macdonald): There are aliens in Rushville, Nebraska. Kerry learned this the hard way after allowing Jordan to question what appeared to be a local yokel over the mysterious shooting at a Rushville high school football game. The older Green Lantern taunted the alien so much, that the creature detonated itself, blowing a hole into the side of the jail.

Jordan and Stewart also got to meet Kerry’s powerful, rancher kingpin father-in-law, William Macon (Garrett Dillahunt). He takes a liking to at least Jordan. However –oops– Stewart slept with Macon’s wife! We’ll soon see whether Macon is a villain behind the scenes or an ally. The theory out there is that Macon is a future foe, harboring a big secret on his ranch. For the time being, he’s under an N.D.A. and can’t disclose to the Green Lantern corp what’s up his sleeve. Wow, an N.D.A., standing in the way of a potential villain’s plans. How often do you see that in a superhero story?

Green Lantern has long been prized by fanboy screenwriters, but a hard needle to thread. Mundy, King and Lindelof share with us their theories on why Green Lantern is hard to crack, in addition to its appeal. There was a 2011 movie, which on paper looked great with Casino Royale director Martin Campbell and a pre-Deadpool Ryan Reynolds in the title role. But at a $200M cost before P&A, Green Lantern was a red light at the box office, dimming with a $237.2M global gross. Greg Berlanti co-wrote that movie, and he tried to revive the property for Warner Bros TV before Green Lantern glowed into Lanterns. With Mundy involved, the series became akin to True Detective crossed with Green Lantern, grounding what is often a labyrinth storyline of galactic proportions.

Listen to our conversation with the trio below: