LANTERNS Showrunner Teases Kilowog for a Potential Season 2
HBO still hasn’t officially renewed Lanterns for Season 2, but the people making the DCU series are already kicking around ideas for what comes next. One of those ideas could bring a major Green Lantern fan favorite into the picture with Kilowog.
Following the fantastic Lanterns Season 1 finale, showrunner and writer Chris Mundy talked about the potential future of the series during an appearance on The Ringer-Verse’s The Midnight Boys. While another season hasn’t been given the green light, Mundy already has a pretty clear idea of where the story could go.
Don’t expect another mystery centered on Rushville. He said: "We won't be back in Rushville unless something crazy happens in Rushville every 10 years. But it's going to be an Earth-based story that we continue most likely.”
That leaves plenty of room for the series to move into new territory, especially after what happened with Hal Jordan. With Hal seemingly gone for good, Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart would be positioned to carry the story forward, and naturally, fans want to know which members of the Green Lantern Corps might join him.
Kilowog is one name that has come up in the writers’ conversations. When Mundy was asked about other Green Lanterns who could potentially appear, he said, "Vanessa [Baden Kelly]'s been talking a big Kilowog game for a long time. We've tossed out a lot of different things."
Vanessa Baden Kelly, a producer and writer on Lanterns, wrote the fan-favorite third episode, “Outkast,” so it’s fun to hear that she’s been pushing for Kilowog.
For anyone unfamiliar with the character, Kilowog made his DC Comics debut in 1986. The massive pink-skinned alien comes from Bolovax Vik and serves as the Green Lantern of Sector 674. He’s also one of the Green Lantern Corps’ best-known trainers and recruiters, and he has a strong friendship with John Stewart in the comics.
Basically, if Lanterns wants to expand John Stewart’s corner of the Corps without immediately turning the series into a full-blown space adventure, Kilowog could be a great character to bring into the mix.
Mundy certainly isn’t confirming that he’ll appear. At this stage, Kilowog is simply one of several possibilities being discussed. Still, introducing another alien Lantern wouldn’t be out of place after Season 1 already brought Sinestro into the story.
Even if more cosmic characters arrive, Mundy wants Lanterns to keep its feet planted firmly on Earth. "We've shown that you can leave the planet, so that's good, right? But because of that, we want to make whoever's here as sort of grounded and real as possible.
“Our idea was just to ground everything and then layer on the other layers. It's like, 'Okay, are you with us? Great. We're going to layer a little bit more in.'"
That approach sounds like the series could gradually open up more of the Green Lantern mythology while keeping the character-driven style established in Season 1. The DC universe around John Stewart can get bigger without suddenly turning Lanterns into a completely different show.
While HBO hasn’t announced Lanterns Season 2, Mundy and the writing team have, however, already started working on possible new stories, which at least gives fans something to look forward to while waiting for HBO to make a decision.
John Stewart also has more DCU action ahead of him outside the series. James Gunn’s DCU Chapter One continues next with Clayface, followed by Man of Tomorrow, where Stewart is expected to team up with Superman and company.
Lanterns Season 1 is currently streaming in full on HBO Max.