James Gunn Hints at When the Lanterns TV Show Will Release, Teases 'Grounded,' 'Believable' Approach

With the animated series Creature Commandos gearing up for a December 5 debut on Max, James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DCU is almost here. But just as Marvel Studios has taken a more cautious approach lately about giving release dates to all of their in-development movies and shows, we haven’t had a firm idea of the DC Studios plan as far as timing beyond a few titles.

But in a recent interview with Gunn, the writer-director-producer told me where the recently cast Green Lantern TV series Lanterns fits in the schedule.

“It's really Creature Commandos, Superman, Peacemaker, Lanterns, Supergirl,” Gunn said. “And then some things people don't know.”

When asked for clarification if Lanterns would arrive before Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow hits theaters on June 26, 2026, he said that “we'll see when it comes out, but they're around the same time” and “we're getting ready to go” into production on Lanterns.

The series stars Friday Night Lights’ Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Rebel Ridge’s Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, and will apparently feature the two Green Lanterns in a more grounded story as they team up to investigate a “True Detective-type mystery.”

Of course, some fans were complaining over the casting of Chandler, who will be playing an older version of Hal Jordan than is typically seen. To this Gunn laughed, saying, “Wait a second, comic book fans had an opinion on casting. What are you talking about!?”

He added: “The truth is Chris [Mundy] and Tom [King] and Damon [Lindelof] wrote an amazing series, like an incredible series. I'm so excited for people to see this. It's very grounded, very believable, very real. The kind of things that you would never think that would be the truth about a Green Lanterns television series. And very human, adult and wonderful. And the story that they wrote fit a couple of actors who were of these ages and so that's who they cast. Those were their choices. I totally backed them up. I love them.”

Gunn also noted that Pierre was almost cast as Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, although the role ultimately went to Will Poulter. Not surprisingly, he had nothing but praise for the two Lanterns leads, saying that he’s long wanted to work with Pierre and that “Kyle's just magnificent” as Hal.

“So I'm really excited for people to see what those guys have come up with,” said Gunn. “But everything is to serve the story. The story is always first. The scripts are always first. And we would never be making this show if Chris and the guys hadn't turned in wonderful, beautiful scripts.”

First up, however, is Creature Commandos, the first two episodes of which debut on Max on December 5.

For more from our James Gunn interview, check out what he had to say about the Justice League inconsistency in Peacemaker. Or watch the full chat here:

Talk to Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottCollura, or listen to his Star Trek podcast, Transporter Room 3. Or do both!