LANTERNS Co-Creator Says Bringing Hal Jordan Back From the Dead Would’ve Been the Most “Schmuck-Baity” Move

Lanterns has officially wrapped its first season, and the finale made one thing painfully clear for Hal Jordan fans, the show’s creative team had no intention of pulling a last-minute trick to keep him alive.

After spending the season unraveling the mystery surrounding Hal’s death, the finale finally revealed who killed him. While plenty of fans held out hope that Kyle Chandler’s Green Lantern might somehow survive, return, or turn out to have cheated death, that was never part of the plan.

Co-creator and writer Damon Lindelof explained that reversing Hal’s death after establishing it in the first episode would have felt like cheating the audience.

"Even though we knew that it was going to be emotionally devastating and/or disappointing and maybe even frustrating, [we knew] that the worst possible schmuck-baity thing that we could do is show you a pilot where Hal Jordan was definitively dead, and then try to walk it back and say, 'Oh, he was a clone' or 'He's only mostly dead' in the Princess Bride vernacular."

Once Lanterns committed to Hal’s death as the mystery driving the story, revealing that he wasn’t actually dead would have undercut much of what came before it.

Showrunner Chris Mundy also addressed Hal’s fate and, more importantly, what his death means for his relationship with John.

"It's absolutely the end of the season and the end of [John and Hal’s] relationship. I think our intent was always just that, to close that off emotionally. That's the best way to say it.

“I know there's people that love the idea of Hal going forward but… I would never say never to anything, but it's also like that closed the book on our story for this season."

So Hal’s story in Lanterns Season 1 has reached its intended conclusion. That doesn’t necessarily mean Kyle Chandler can never put the ring on again, though.

Neither Mundy nor Lindelof completely ruled out another appearance somewhere down the road. Lindelof offered fans one small reason to keep hoping, saying, "Where there's a will, there's a way." Hey, this is the DC Universe. Death has rarely been an impossible problem to solve.

The Lanterns finale also delivered a couple of major developments beyond Hal’s murder mystery. The long-rumored theory surrounding Kerry’s son Noah proved correct, revealing that he had secretly been a Manhunter.

John also ended the season in possession of a fear-infused lantern created by Sinestro, giving his story a particularly interesting direction moving forward.

As much as I understand why the creators wanted Hal’s death to stick, I loved how Hal Jordan was handled throughout the series. Chandler brought a lot to the character, and his relationship with John became one of my favorite parts of the show. Killing him carried real weight because the series actually made me care about this version of Hal.

That’s also exactly why I want him back. I don’t need Lanterns to undo its finale with a cheap "surprise, he survived" reveal. If Hal Jordan returns, find a way that respects what happened and makes his comeback worth it. This is Green Lantern mythology, after all.

There are cosmic forces, alternate realities, strange technology, and plenty of comic book insanity available if the writers eventually decide Chandler deserves a shot at returning.

For now, Hal Jordan is dead. I’m just not ready to believe he has to stay that way.