Legendary Green Lantern Writer Grant Morrison Just Reviewed Lanterns – It’s Not All Praise

Grant Morrison knows something about writing superheroes for DC. As a matter of fact, the writer even tried to help out the DC Extended Universe once upon a time by writing an unmade script for The Flash movie with Ezra Miller. So when Morrison wants to talk about HBO’s Lanterns, everybody should sit up and listen to what they have to say about the show.

As it turns out, Morrison had the same thought everybody else had when seeing the first trailer: Where the heck is all the green? “I felt obliged to watch the first episode of Lanterns after criticising the glib dismissal of the colour green by writer and producer Damon Lindelof,” Morrison wrote on Substack.

So, what did Morrison think of Lanterns? As it turns out, the writer was impressed by the leads’ performances, even if they didn’t think that Kyle Chandler possessed too much similarity to the Hal Jordan from the comics. “I liked Aaron Pierre’s quiet and uptight performance as John Stewart, and thought Kyle Chandler anchored the show with a great turn as Doctor McCoy, but he wasn’t any Hal Jordan I recognised,” Morrison wrote. “Willpower and booze don’t mix for a start. I’ll stick with it for the engaging Chandler.”

Morrison also pointed out something else that a few people have noticed too. For a series about cosmic characters, there isn’t a lot of sci-fi taking place here, as everything feels grounded on Earth. “I’m keen to see how they introduce the more sci-fi elements of the concept. Otherwise on this outing, way too much tell, not enough show, and those comparisons to True Detective, invoking Season 1 of that show, only worked against Lanterns.”

In addition to this, Morrison wondered if the show’s aesthetic decisions were due to it trying to move away from 2011’s Green Lantern movie. “The lack of costumes and ring effects was glaring but easily explained by budgetary constraints and a desire to create some distance between this and the unsuccessful Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern film (I found it odd, however, when Jordan compared not wearing his Green Lantern uniform to the decision not to wear a tie when you get older – the Lantern uniform is not a superhero suit or personal fashion choice, it’s the uniform of the organisation Jordan works for, and as with a policeman’s blues, it signals his affiliation and authority. Working cops don’t get to leave their uniforms and badges at home because they regard them as stuffy and boring, no matter how long they’ve pounded the beat.).”

This did lead Morrison to ask an important question that’s pertinent here. “Which only begs the question of why try to make a Green Lantern show on a budget at all? DC has a ton of ‘ground-level’ heroes, or characters with low-level gimmick powers to choose from, so why take this low-fi route with a franchise that should be competing with Star Trek or Star Wars?”

While Morrison may have gripes about certain aspects of Lanterns, the writer admitted that the general positive reception indicates the choices made have been justified. “Having said that, the approach seems to have worked, and mainstream reviews of the show are pretty positive, so fair dos,” Morrison wrote.

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Lanterns premiered August 16, 2026, on HBO and HBO Max.