Well, that’s it. The first season of Lanterns is officially over.
And if you’re like me, you probably finished the finale with one immediate question:
There’s going to be a Season 2, right?
The answer right now is… probably. But strangely, HBO and DC Studios still haven’t officially renewed it.
That sounds a little scary, but there are actually a lot of reasons to be optimistic.
First, James Gunn has been referring to Episode 8 as the “season finale,” not the “series finale.” That may sound like semantics, but when you’re dealing with television, those words matter. More importantly, showrunner Chris Mundy and the creative team have already been working on ideas for what a second season could look like. Reports indicate that development on potential Season 2 stories has already started even without the official green light. GamesRadar+
So basically, nobody has announced Season 2 yet… but people are already working on Season 2.
That’s usually a pretty good sign.
And the Finale Definitely Left the Door Open
Spoilers from here on out.
The first season did something I actually really liked: it finished its story.
We found out what happened to Hal Jordan. John Stewart completed the journey the entire season had been building toward. And instead of ending with some giant CGI space battle where everybody shoots green lasers at each other for 40 minutes, Lanterns stayed surprisingly small and personal.
John Stewart is now Earth’s Green Lantern, and Aaron Pierre is already expected to continue playing the character in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow. Los Angeles Times
So John Stewart isn’t going anywhere.
And neither is the bigger Green Lantern story.
Sinestro is still out there. Guy Gardner is still around. The Green Lantern Corps has barely been explored. And the finale leaves John in a completely different place than where we met him eight episodes ago.
There is a LOT more story sitting there waiting to be told.
The Bigger Question May Be: What Would Season 2 Even Be?
This is where things get interesting.
One of the smartest things about Lanterns was that it didn’t really feel like a traditional superhero show.
It was closer to True Detective with a Green Lantern ring thrown into the middle of it.
That was the hook.
So do they do that again?
Another mystery? Another town? Another case?
Or does Season 2 finally take John Stewart out into the larger DC Universe and start getting a little more cosmic?
Personally, I’d love to see them keep the detective-show structure but slowly open the door to the crazier Green Lantern mythology. Give me Sinestro. Give me Oa. Give me more Lantern Corps mythology.
Just don’t suddenly turn the whole thing into eight hours of people firing glowing energy beams at each other.
The restraint is part of what made this show work.
Damon Lindelof May Not Be Back
One interesting wrinkle is Damon Lindelof.
Lindelof helped create the series alongside Chris Mundy and Tom King, but he has indicated that he doesn’t expect to be directly involved in a possible second season because of his other projects.
He did, however, confirm that discussions about another season are happening, and that people involved with the show are asking whether they actually have a story worth telling instead of simply making another season because the first one worked.
And honestly?
That’s exactly what I want to hear.
I’d rather wait for a genuinely good second season than have HBO announce one Monday morning because somebody looked at the streaming numbers and yelled, “MAKE MORE.”
So, Will Lanterns Season 2 Happen?
At this moment, it is not officially confirmed.
But I’d be pretty surprised if it doesn’t happen.
The show appears to have been successful, the creative team is already discussing what comes next, James Gunn is calling this a “season” finale, John Stewart is continuing into the movies, and the finale very clearly leaves room for another chapter. EW.com
The only bad news?
Even if HBO announces Season 2 tomorrow, we’re probably going to be waiting a while.
A show like Lanterns takes time, and with John Stewart appearing in Man of Tomorrow in 2027, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if DC lets that movie move his story forward before bringing him back to television.
So could we be looking at 2028 or even 2029 before another season?
Unfortunately, yeah. That’s very possible.
But after that finale, I’m in.
Give Aaron Pierre his second season.
And this time…
let’s go to space.
