The ‘Lanterns’ Clips at Comic-Con Were Even Better Than the New Trailer

When a Comic-Con panel starts with an excellent new trailer, usually, it’s not gonna get better than that. However, in the case of the upcoming HBO DC show, Lanterns, the trailer paled in comparison to the clips that were shown in Hall H. Seven clips, in total, were shown, each better than the last, setting up incredible drama, action, and tension that have our hopes higher than ever for the show. There are certainly some spoilers in these so if you want to go in cold, we’d recommend avoiding. Also, the titles are ours, not DC’s. Clip 1: The Test The first clip has John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) standing on a street. Up pulls a black car that’s pumping “Boogie Shoes” by KC and the Sunshine Band. Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) is driving. Hal acknowledges that he’s late, and John says it’s fine. But Hal kind of wants him to be mad and keeps goading him. “Why are you not angry?” Things like that. John keeps calling him “Sir,” and Hal mentions that every time he calls him “Sir” it sounds like “Fuck you.” “No, sir,” says John. Hal explains that he’s been gone for two weeks off-planet settling some kind of galactic dispute. And, again, he jabs at John. “You know how that is.” John says he doesn’t because they haven’t gone off-world yet. He mentions that the Guardians chose him, and Hal hasn’t even let him try the ring yet. Hal then begrudgingly takes his ring off and sets it on the dashboard. He tells John there’s a taco stand about three miles up the road and to meet him there. He proceeds to jump out of the moving, speeding car, which then flies off a cliff. In the air, we see John grab the ring, put it on, and start to manifest something with it. Things pick up at the taco stand. Hal is there, signing autographs, taking photos, generally being famous. One woman tells him she misses the suit, and he mentions he wears it on special occasions. Then, finally, John strolls up. “I could have died,” he says. “You wanted training. I’m training you,” Hal replies. Hal then asks him what he made to survive. John, embarrassed, tells him, “Bubble wrap.” © HBO Max/DC Clip 2: The Interrogation The second clip sees Hal interrogating a mysterious man. This man was apprehended at a high school football game, and Hal happens to know he’s a fan of the University of Nebraska football team. So Hal asks him a few pieces of trivia about the team, which the man answers easily. Then Hal hits him with another question. “Where does Harry Potter go to school?” The man is confused. He jokes that he does know who that is, and Hal jokes that there were books and about 22 movies. Hal then explains that if this man were human, he’d know things humans know. But if he was an alien, he’d study the specific character traits he’s adopted, but not all of humanity. Like, for example, who Barack Obama was. Barack Obama was the President of the United States, the main answer. Hal then says, “You’re from rural Nebraska, and that’s the extent of your opinion on Barack Hussein Obama? You’re definitely an alien.” He’s got him. The man then gets much more serious and explains that if, hypothetically, he’s an alien, he’s been very careful to blend in. He goes off on a long list of things he would have to do to stay secret and off the radar of intergalactic organizations like the Green Lantern Corps. He also adds that, if he were to be discovered by a group like that, he’d have a contingency plan. Something like a bomb that he could set off with his mind that could level the town. Hal tells him he’ll just control it with his ring but the man retorts that he’s been in town for 48 hours; does he have the Lantern to recharge the ring? Is it powered up enough? Hal says it is. There’s some more back and forth to which Hal says, “Are we talking or exploding? Because it’s almost lunchtime.” The man starts to recite the Lantern oath to piss off Hal. Hal asks why he’s there, to which the man whispers, “Vengeance,” and explodes. Hal contains some of it with his ring, but it destroys the building. © HBO Max Clip 3: The Flashback Scene three is a flashback. John walks into a restaurant in his full Marine Corps uniform. The man he’s meeting tells him that usually when you meet at an Outback Steakhouse, it’s for discretion. John doesn’t care. He’s all business. John is a highly decorated sniper, and the man has a mission for him. He begins to explain who the target is, but John doesn’t care. Again, he only wants to know about the mission. Apparently, the man is impossible to find, and the only info they have is that he returns from time to time to a very remote vacation cabin. John realizes that means he’s going to have to hide and wait for the man for weeks or months. He also realizes he’s not the first person to do this. Apparently, three others tried, failed, and never came back. John is told to get his affairs in order before leaving and walks out. Next, we see John on a military airplane, parachuting down into enemy territory to avoid detection. However, he crashes on the way down. Clip 4: The Bar John and Hal are sitting at a bar, and the song “Brand New Key” by Melanie is playing. A local man yells at Hal that if this song plays one more time, there’s going to be a problem. John realizes Hal has a plan. He’s starting shit. He wants to get into a fight and be sent to jail. Hal admits to it but tells John that it’s going to look like he’s getting really beat up and hurt, but not to interfere. John agrees to that a little too fast. Hal takes off his ring and puts it on the bar. Hal gets up, starts fighting, and a woman sitting next to John asks him if he’s going to say “Yes.” He was given a ring, after all. John slides over to the flirty woman, played by Poorna Jagannathan, and they begin a conversation. She calls him a space cop, and John explains he’s not that just yet. He’s just a trainee. The flirting continues as he explains how he was chosen by the Guardians to become Earth’s Green Lantern, but it hasn’t happened yet. She calls him the backup quarterback in a way that is filled with electricity, all while Hal continues to get beat up in the background. © John Johnson/HBO Max Clip 5: The Husband Scene five takes place soon after that. Hal and John are leaving dinner at the house of a powerful local named William Macon (Garret Dillahunt). Things seem cordial enough, but Hal points out that he doesn’t know why Macon wanted to meet with them in the first place. Macon says, “Let’s just say we both share the interest of protecting the planet from people not born on it.” He then asks John how his tofu was. John says it was delicious, to which Macon replies, “There’s nothing better than eating off another man’s grill.” “What was that about?” Hal asks. John says that he may have slept with his wife. “May have?” “I definitely slept with his wife.” “And he knows?” “Apparently.” Hal says that they’ve only been in town for 24 hours. He’s impressed. Clip 6: The Mentor The sixth scene sees Hal Jordan flying down to some kind of ice planet. It’s a prison, and he’s there to see Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen). “What do you know about Manhunters?” Hal asks his former mentor. “If one still existed, they’d be your second greatest threat,” Sinestro replies. “Tell me about John Stewart.” Hal doesn’t know how Sinestro has heard about John since he’s alone in an ice prison, but he points out that clearly, this person isn’t what he seems. He’s not there to be his trainee. He’s there to take the mantle of Green Lantern from Hal. This then smash cuts in a very weird way (almost like the studio was trying to fool us) to Hal returning to Earth and John waiting on him. The two get into a massive fight, throwing each other all over the room, as a siren slowly wails in the background. Eventually, John gets Hal in a chokehold as a bright red light gets brighter and brighter from outside. Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern © Warner Bros. Clip 7: The Tease The seventh clip played a little earlier in the panel, but it was not a full clip. It was Guy Gardner, played by Nathan Fillion, landing in town, walking into a jail, and waking up John Stewart. They know each other, but just as they were about to start talking, a screen came up that censored the rest. That’s a lot, right? All the scenes had great energy and balance between humanity and superheroism. The writing was sharp, performances fun, and chemistry off the charts. We were really, really impressed and, hopefully, on August 16, it’ll all come to fruition. 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