Is Lanterns Coming Back for Season 2?

2 min readFifteen years after a Green Lantern movie with Ryan Reynolds soured everyone on the Emerald Knight, Lanterns on HBO brings justice to the mythos. The gritty superhero series from James Gunn’s DC Studios has been a popular one, and could very well be a contender at next year’s Emmy Awards. But will a second season even see the light of day?Unfortunately, that’s a question no Guardian of Oa can answer right now. But here’s all we know about a potential season 2 of Lanterns so far.On September 15, Deadline published an interview with chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max, Casey Bloys, at the HBO Max Emmys afterparty. While Bloys discussed the entirety of HBO, from the ending of Hacks to the upcoming Harry Potter, Bloys also discussed what DC shows might look like in the near future on HBO. Deadline name-dropped the upcoming series The People vs. Gorilla Grodd, a true-crime mockumentary centered on The Flash villain Gorilla Grodd.“People read about development and they assume that those are greenlit shows, and they’re development,” Bloys said. “And everybody knows that development is just that—you’re trying things, you take big swings, not everything comes through.”From there, Bloys said HBO’s “selective” track record for DC is to take big swings that end in home runs. “I would say our track record in DC, from Watchmen to Peacemaker to Penguin and now Lanterns, is pretty good. We’re very selective. We’re careful about what we do, nothing has changed. You’ll read about development, but focus on what we’re greenlighting.”So, does that mean more Lanterns? Bloys was coy, and said that no other DC shows are in active development besides The People vs. Gorilla Grodd. “No, not right now,” Bloys said, “obviously you’ve got Gorilla Grodd, which I’m very happy about, doing something different, and I think it’s a really fun idea. They just started shooting.”Days after Deadline’s story, Collider published an interview with Lanterns co-creator Chris Mundy in which they discussed the possibility for another season. Mundy said only that if the show continues having a large enough audience, they’ll make it.“The general feeling is if people are interested, knock on wood, if people like the show, and there seems to be enough interest, we would love to do it,” Mundy said. “Honestly. I think you want to end in a place where you feel like this was a fall season, but emotionally, there's so much more to keep going with. So, with a little bit of luck, there'll be more.”This isn’t the answer Lanterns fans wanted or expected, given the acclaim and viewership the show draws for HBO’s Sunday nights. But there are a lot of uncertainties in the air, not the least of which involves a looming merger between Warner Bros. and Paramount that is sure to disrupt every movie and TV show currently in the works at both studios. For now, DC fans should just relish every minute left of Lanterns. The brightest days always follow the darkest nights.