{"id":6023,"date":"2026-08-17T05:05:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6023"},"modified":"2026-08-17T05:05:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:05:57","slug":"lanterns-premiere-shocker-stars-kyle-chandler-aaron-pierre-and-show-creators-break-down-that-time-jump-and-cliffhanger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6023","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Lanterns\u2019 Premiere Shocker: Stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre and Show Creators Break Down That Time Jump and Cliffhanger"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n<strong>SPOILER ALERT:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>This article contains spoilers for the Season 1 premiere of \u201cLanterns,\u201d now streaming on HBO Max.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6021\">Hayden Panettiere, \u2018Heroes\u2019 and \u2018Scream\u2019 Star, Dies at 36<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\tWhat kind of superhero show has the guts to kill off its lead character in the first episode?<\/p>\n<p>\n\tOf course, just because Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) is found dead in the bleachers by John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and town sheriff Kerry (Kelly MacDonald) in the middle of a brutal 2026 winter doesn\u2019t mean audiences won\u2019t get to see Green Lantern in action in future episodes \u2014 the show sets up a non-linear structure that jumps among different storylines from the very opening scene, which begins in 1996 and sets up a young John\u2019s connection to taking the Green Lantern mantle.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tBut clueing audiences in on the fact that the  show\u2019s protagonist\u2019s days are numbered is bold for the comic book genre. And it makes for one hell of a cliffhanger for the series premiere.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cWhether it\u2019s the right cliffhanger or not is basically in the hands of the audience now,\u201d \u201cLanterns\u201d co-creator Damon Lindelof tells <em>Variety<\/em>. \u201cBut one of the very first things that was part of the premise was that this is a murder mystery with Green Lantern solving it, and then you sort of start at, \u2018Well, who gets murdered and why are we supposed to care about them?\u2019 The more that we talked about it, the more that it kept coming back to the idea of, \u2018What if it was one of them?&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cLanterns,\u201d the latest show under James Gunn and Peter Safran\u2019s newly expanded DCU, follows Hal as he is forced to take John under his wing.\u00a0As the Green Lantern, Hal has the power to create material items through his ring, and acts as an intergalactic space officer protecting humanity from extraterrestrial threats. Things take a dark turn, however, after a series of unexplainable deaths draw Hal and John to a small town in Nebraska.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tWhen Chandler first read the ending of the episode, he \u201ccheered\u201d at Hal\u2019s demise.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cNot just for the storyline and all that, but what a way great way to end the first episode of this show,\u201d Chandler says.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tMacDonald, who says Frances McDormand\u2019s Oscar-winning performance in \u201cFargo\u201d informed the way she played the sheriff just trying to keep her small town from falling apart, dreaded filming the scene when she discovers Hal\u2019s dead body. \u201cJust the thought of what was going to happen, I did not look forward to it. It was quite emotional, seeing him like that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tLindelof, who created HBO\u2019s Emmy-winning \u201cWatchmen\u201d TV series that released in 2019 \u2014 bringing a grounded approach to it \u2014 recognizes the opportunity to subvert audience expectations from what they\u2019ve come to expect in the genre.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6019\">John Oliver Brutally Mocks Trump for Sacrificing Staff in Airplane-Swap Incident<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cThat you basically watched eight episodes and everybody had an adventure, and then at the end of the adventure, it\u2019s just time for the next adventure,\u201d Lindelof says. \u201cSo the idea that it would have real emotional stakes [was important]. But most importantly, this is a story about a guy who doesn\u2019t want to give up the ring \u2014 and a guy who wants the ring. And it was important for us to message to the audience that we weren\u2019t gonna try to have our cake and eat it too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe episode sets up Hal and John\u2019s budding mentor-mentee dynamic in a 2016 timeline, with Hal being a reluctant teacher. The tension between them comes to a head after the two arrive in Nebraska and begin investigating a school shooting that Hal believes is a front for aliens.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cThere\u2019s a moment where we\u2019re in the stands and we were literally <em>this<\/em> close. And it was a moment very early in their dynamic. Everything in John wants to just rumble in that moment, but he can\u2019t and Hal knows he can\u2019t,\u201d Pierre says. \u201cIt was just so fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s like making fun of the animals at the zoo behind the plate of glass,\u201d Chandler adds with a laugh. \u201cHe\u2019s can\u2019t touch me, but I can do what I want!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\n\tChandler says Hal has a deep respect for John from the beginning, even if it\u2019s unspoken. \u201cI knew that he could literally grab my neck and snap it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tSeeing Chandler sit up on a pair of bleachers overlooking a football field may give viewers who were introduced to the Emmy-winning actor with \u201cFriday Night Lights\u201d a feeling of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu. Chandler felt those memories for the series that turns 20 this fall.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt when I walked out there, it was a lot of different thoughts and emotions going through me,\u201d Chandler says \u2014 although he never asked the writers if the callback was intentional.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tOverall, Pierre commends the \u201cLanterns\u201d writers\u2019 room, and is excited to see how the show\u2019s weekly release model will play into the conversations fans have online.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\u201cThey leave you \u2014 \u2018want\u2019 doesn\u2019t even feel like a strong enough word. It\u2019s <em>needing<\/em> to know what happens next,\u201d Pierre says, teasingly. \u201cI imagine there are going to be a few weeks where audiences are, in the healthiest, most excitable way, furious that they don\u2019t know what is coming next.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6017\">Dwayne Johnson Leads Crowd in \u2018Happy Birthday\u2019 Song for Daughter Simone After Receiving Disney Legend Award at D23<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Lanterns&#8221; stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre and co-creator Damon Lindelof break down the premiere episode&#8217;s shocking ending and time jump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[4594,3884],"class_list":["post-6023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-kyle-chandler","tag-lanterns"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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