Lanterns Is a Grounded Story Taking Place on Earth, James Gunn Explains

James Gunn Being open about what a “grounded” center console is. Lanterns It will look like a string.

The Lanterns are an upcoming DCU series co-written by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King. Coming from HBO in association with Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios, Lanterns will see Kyle Chandler playing Hal Jordan while Aaron Burr plays John Stewart.

Gunn previously said the Lanterns story would be “very grounded, very believable, very real,” according to IGN.

Talk to Josh Horowitz on Happy sad confused podcast, Gunn was asked what he meant by “grounded” and whether or not that meant audiences would see Hal and Gunn wearing traditional superhero costumes.

James Gunn explains how the Lanterns will have a “grounded” approach.

“Well, I don’t want to give all that stuff away,” Gunn replied. “I think it’s grounded on Earth — just, like, if Green Lanterns were real, what would they be and what would they be like? I was thinking about that the other morning. The thing that keeps coming up is that it’s an Earthly story. And I’m like, ‘Yes, since it’s on Earth.’ Earth, the story takes place on Earth.” Everyone says: We don’t want to see [Earth]They’re from outer space, flying in rings. I say, “Yes, they’re on Earth for the story, like most Green Lantern stories.” They are connected to the earth. It’s not in outer space. We don’t have thousands of green lights or any of that stuff. It’s a grounded story told through another lens in an authentic way — it’s an HBO series, and it’s going to be an HBO series. “I’m happy about it and I love the scripts.”

The Lanterns do not have a premiere date at this time; However, Gunn has previously said that he intends to release it around the same time as Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, which will hit US theaters on June 26, 2026.

Originally reported by Brandon Schreur SuperHeroHype.