LANTERNS Showrunner on Why Sinestro Was the Perfect Time to Remind Fans “We’re Doing Space Cops”
Lanterns may have its boots planted firmly in the dirt of Nebraska, but the HBO series hasn’t forgotten that its heroes are intergalactic cops armed with power rings.
Episode 2 makes that pretty clear when the story suddenly takes Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan away from Earth and puts him face-to-face with Sinestro.
Showrunner Chris Mundy recently talked about bringing Sinestro into the series and why the creative team intentionally waited before leaning harder into the cosmic and comic book side of the story.
"We held off on a lot of the more comic book stuff. It's very grounded," Mundy said on Lanterns: The Official Podcast. "We're in western Nebraska. Hal is wearing jeans and a jacket. It felt like a good time to remind people we understand the show we're making and we understand who the players are."
That reminder comes at the end of Episode 2, "Trust Fall," when Hal leaves Nebraska behind and flies to the intergalactic prison holding his former mentor, Sinestro, played by Ulrich Thomsen.
It’s a pretty great shift after spending so much time with Hal walking around in jeans and a jacket. Suddenly, he’w sporting his Green Lantern suit, and we’re in an alien prison with Sinestro.
The reunion between Hal and Sinestro isn’t exactly friendly. There’s plenty of baggage between them, but Hal needs help with the case unfolding back on Earth, where a Manhunter is loose in Rushville.
That sends him back to the man who once served as his mentor, opening the door to their complicated history while expanding the scale of the series.
Co-executive producer Vanessa Baden Kelly explained why this was the right point to show viewers another side of Lanterns. "It felt like the moment in the show to let everybody know we're doing space cops," she said.
The grounded crime drama approach has been a major part of the identity of Lanterns, but Sinestro's arrival makes it clear that "grounded" doesn't mean the series is running away from Green Lantern mythology.
Sinestro also adds another mystery to the story. Whatever happened between him and Hal clearly left some scars, and seeing Hal turn to his former mentor for assistance suggests their relationship will be an important piece of what’s coming.
It also backs up what Chandler previously said about the pace of the series following Episode 1's big cliffhanger. Anyone expecting Lanterns to spend most of its season slowly inching toward the stranger corners of the DC Universe might want to reconsider.
He said: "I think it turns out great. I think there's a lot of different moves in the whole deal. It's an exciting poker game."
"We didn't have all the scripts starting out. They started coming in… it's not a slow burn. It goes from one world into another, and grows into that."
The Earthbound detective story gives the mystery room to work, while characters like Sinestro and threats like the Manhunter keep the series connected to the much larger Green Lantern universe.
The creative team clearly didn't want to unload every comic book element immediately. Sinestro's appearance feels more effective because the series spends time establishing its Earthbound world first. Once Hal leaves it, the change hits harder.
It sends a pretty clear message about what Lanterns intends to become. This may look different from the kind of Green Lantern adaptation some fans expected, but the cosmic side of the DC mythology is very much part of the story.
Lanterns is currently airing weekly on HBO and HBO Max.