Lanterns trailer connects to Superman 2025 with a strange HBO theory

The first trailer for HBO and DC’s Green Lantern series Lanterns sends longtime Oa fans spinning through lore questions: why doesn’t Hal glow green for a split second when he takes flight, will a True Detective–style cop drama include a cameo from Ch’p, and does Hal Jordan’s claim that he’s the only human member of the Green Lantern Corps mean Guy Gardner is non‑human or that the show is set before Gardner appears?

Perhaps the most interesting thread the teaser tugs on is institutional rather than canonical. If HBO exists in James Gunn’s DCU, will it be acquired by Paramount Skydance, which also appears to exist there? That line of thinking feels timely for a show greenlit in June 2024, given Skydance Media’s August 2025 purchase of Paramount Pictures and its late‑February end to a public battle with Netflix for ownership of HBO’s parent, Warner Bros.

Discovery. Fans of Damon Lindelof’s HBO sequel to Watchmen will note he has a track record of getting certain details right — so the possibility can’t be dismissed out of hand.

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