James Gunn and Peter Safran’s ambitious DC Universe kicks off with a bang, or rather, a gunshot. The premiere of HBO’s Lanterns left viewers reeling after Hal Jordan (played by Kyle Chandler) met an unexpected end.
A Grumpy Hero Falls
In the final moments of the first episode of Lanterns , the iconic Green Lantern – a test pilot, hero, protector of Sector 2814, founding member of the Justice League (in the comics), and a disheveled grumpy grump (at least in this new show) – is found dead, apparently shot in the head. This bold move sets the stage for a thrilling mystery at the heart of the series.
I spoke with showrunner Chris Mundy about this game-changing decision, and he revealed that killing off Hal was “kind of big and scary.” Mundy, along with Damon Lindelof (HBO’s Watchmen ) and Tom King (a celebrated comics writer), crafted the series as a blend of superhero drama and gritty mystery, dubbed “True Detective With Superheroes.” The death of Hal is crucial not only for John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), who is training under Hal, but also for exploring Hal’s own story. As the show jumps between timelines, we will continue to see Chandler as Hal, even knowing his fate. In 2026, when John discovers Hal’s body, he notices that the Green Lantern ring is missing. What happened to it?
“It felt like [the right thing to do] in a show about someone trying to hold onto this thing, losing it, and then where does he end up and why?” said Mundy. “And can we do the math to get to that point? How do we use that? Because obviously you don’t take something like that lightly.”
Read on for my full conversation with Mundy about the shocking events of Episode 1 of Lanterns!
Behind the Decision: A Balancing Act
IGN: At what point in the process did you decide to work within multiple timelines?
Chris Mundy: “Pretty much from the jump. We always knew we were going to do two timelines and that there were going to be a couple of different mysteries, literal mysteries that we play, and then also sort of emotional mysteries.”
IGN: Were there any times where you had to get approval in terms of the timeline?
Chris Mundy: “Initially we asked about that, and he was just starting to shoot Superman . So we were able to read that, which was super helpful.”
IGN: Is it annoying having to worry about that stuff at times?
Chris Mundy: “No, it’s just – to be honest – I assumed stepping into a show inside a universe like that, I figured that kind of stuff would be happening all the time.”
IGN: It’s interesting that even though it’s set in the bigger James Gunn universe, your wife probably is going to just enjoy it as an HBO drama.
Chris Mundy: “Exactly. We wanted each of those types of people to have entry to the show.”
The Hal Jordan Conundrum
IGN: Were there any concerns about making Hal kind of an asshole?
Chris Mundy: “Yeah. [laughs] I mean, look, you start a show and there’s concerns about everything because you want it to be good, you want people to like it, but you also want to make sure that you’re doing the most pure version of it you can.”
“Getting Kyle to say yes was a huge weight off our shoulders because Hal could be a bit of an asshole, but Kyle’s just not an asshole. So you could write it up here and he delivers it and it’d be funny, but it still plays down here because he’s so charming.”
IGN: Yeah, it’s Coach, right?
Chris Mundy: “Exactly. It’s like, ‘Come on, he’s coaching!'”
The Bigger Picture
IGN: Killing off Hal – obviously that’s a big deal. Can you tell me a little bit about your thought process on how you landed on that idea?
Chris Mundy: “We needed whatever that mystery was to be as meaningful as possible and as emotional as possible for John, for Hal in a way, but also for the audience.”
Check back at IGN every week for the latest on Lanterns!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Talk to Scott Collura @scottcollura.bsky.social , or listen to his Star Trek podcast, Transporter Room 3 . Or do both!
Source: IGN Gaming
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