News

- Yet to be officially announced
- Writers room has been assembled
- Release date and trailer reveals are a long way off
- No firm details about its cast and plot
- Might introduce alien members of the Lanterns Corps.
- Could be another Earth-bound story

Lanterns season 2 is in very early development at DC Studios. Admittedly, it hasn't received the green light to officially move forward yet, but there are positive signs that it'll see the light of day.

Indeed, Lanterns' impressive season 1 viewership and the assembly of a season 2 writers room have given fans hope that it's a matter of when, not if, the hit HBO TV Original will get another installment.

While we wait for news regarding an official renewal, there's plenty we can speculate on about the sci-fi crime drama's return. Below, I've rounded up everything I can find on season 2 of Lanterns, including what's been teased by its cast and crew. Here, then, is what we know so far about the series' potential return.

Predictably, Lanterns season 2 doesn't have a confirmed launch date. The HBO Max program hasn't even officially announced, so we'll be waiting a long time for its actual release.

Even with its writers room already bandying around ideas for next season, it's going to be a while before its scripts are completed and the cameras start rolling on the DC Universe (DCU) TV show's next chapter, too.

Like you, I want to see Lanterns back on our screens as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I can't see it coming out before late 2028 — and that's being optimistic.

It took over three and half years for season 1 to arrive following its official announcement as part of DC Studios co-head James Gunn's initial DCU Chapter One lineup reveal. And, while I don't expect we'll have to wait until 2030 for a second season, there are many things — cast and crew schedules, filming start dates, post-production, release calendars, and more besides — that can impact a film or show's production.

In short: don't expect to see Lanterns season 2 for a couple of years.

Obviously not. Lanterns season 2 hasn't even been announced yet, let alone started filming, so it'll be a long time before we see any official footage. Once a teaser is unveiled, I'll add it to this section.

Full spoilers immediately follow for Lanterns season 1.

Nobody has been announced as part of next season's cast yet, but there's a strong case to be made for Aaron Pierre's return as John Stewart. After all, Pierre was not only the protagonist of last season's tale, but is now the face of the show following the death of Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan.

That's not to say that Chandler couldn't return. As co-creator Damon Lindelof pointed out during an interview with Collider, Jordan has been killed off — and then brought back to life — multiple times in DC comic book history. And, with Ulrich Thomsen's Sinestro — who's also a potential candidate to return in Lanterns season 2 — suggesting he knows how to permanently revive Jordan in last season's finale, Chandler's return isn't out of the question.

Elsewhere, Laura Linney could reprise her role as the Guardian of the Universe called Lianna. Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner, aka Earth's one and only official Green Lantern, seems like another solid bet on the returning cast member front.

He might not be the only Guardians-approved member of the Lantern Corps. who could show up, either.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly (EW), Lanterns showrunner and co-creator Chris Mundy revealed that the writing team discussed showing other Green Lanterns in season 1 episode 5, but decided against it. More recently, Mundy told the Ringer-Verse podcast that writer Vanessa Baden Kelly is championing the inclusion of fan-favorite Lantern Kilowog in season 2. A team-up between Stewart and the aforementioned Bolavaxian next time around? Sign me up.

Full spoilers immediately follow for Lanterns' debut season.

Once again, there are very few details about Lanterns season 2's plot. Nonetheless, last season's finale set up some interesting story threads that could be ripe for exploration. You can read more about those via my Lanterns season 1 ending explained piece.

There's also the small matter of Pierre's Stewart making his big-screen debut in Man of Tomorrow, aka the sequel to 2025's Superman movie.

Stewart's arc in the forthcoming flick will surely have a bearing on the direction of his DCU journey, so expect Man of Tomorrow's plot to not only continue setting up the DCU's wider narrative, but have a potentially direct impact on Lanterns 2.

That said, next season wouldn't see Stewart traverse the cosmos as, in his own words, an "independent contractor". As Stewart told Gardner in the season 1 finale, he plans on staying planetside and protecting Earth from extraterrestrial threats.

As part of his chat with the Ringer-Verse podcast, Mundy therefore indicated that a second season would, like its predecessor, be an Earth-based story, albeit one set in a new location.

"We won't be back in Rushville... unless something crazy happens in Rushville, you know, every 10 years," he teased. "But... it's going to be an Earth-based story that we continue, most likely."

There's plenty of inspiration that the DCU Chapter One TV show's next chapter can draw upon from its source material, too.

Some of the most notable storytelling elements that could be adapted were tentatively teased in last season's finale, such as Sinestro's founding of the Yellow Lanterns and Hal's resurrection as, or being possessed by, the fear-embodying entity known as Parallax. But, with so many different comic-book runs to pull from, countless other Lanterns — Green or otherwise — that could be introduced, and a seemingly infinite amount of lore to further educate audiences about, there are myriad directions that Lanterns season 2's story could go in.

While we wait for more on this series' return, find out everything we know so far about Man of Tomorrow. Then, get the full lowdown on The People v Gorilla Grodd, aka the only DCU TV show that's in active development and expected to premiere once Man of Tomorrow has flown into theaters next July.