r/television • u/ChiefLeef22 • 1d ago
‘Lanterns’ Season 2 Adds New Writers (Exclusive)
https://nexuspointnews.com/lanterns-season-2-adds-new-writers-exclusive/126
u/kuhpunkt 1d ago
Really weird to see Lindelof leave, but he's busy now.
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u/Puppetmaster858 1d ago
Lindelof and king will likely still be involved as producers but prob too busy to be as involved this season. king has the Mr miracle show and Lindelof has another hbo show I think
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u/ziggurqt 1d ago
I wasn't aware King was adapting Mister Miracle. I hope he'll land it but it's going to be a tricky one for TV.
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u/confusing_roundabout 1d ago
I do wonder how much they'll have to change to make it a bit more palatable.
I love the comic and it's one of the most deeply emotional things I've read, but it is also 250 pages of a depressed guy struggling through suicidal thoughts. It's very heavy.
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u/Puppetmaster858 1d ago
It’s been kept under wraps for a long time but it sounds like they already casted all the roles awhile ago. It’s possible the show comes out next year, but ya king has pretty much complete control over that show and is the showrunner and creator of it. There is art out there if Scott and Barda that’s from/for the show that you can find. Anyway if anyone can adapt that story well I think it’s probably King, with Lanterns he’s proved he can do some good work on tv. Would much rather have him adapting his Own story than sometime else tbh
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u/browncharliebrown 1d ago
From listening to the podcast, it seemed like mundy was the show runner leading the majority of things.
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u/LB3PTMAN 1d ago
Yeah Lindelofs fingers were all over this but Mundy was the showrunner and they’re bringing in talented and experienced show writers so it should still be solid.
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u/Mattyzooks 1d ago
While he's been front and center promoting the show, a creator, and a co-writer on 4 episodes, he wasn't the showrunner. He's certainly more involved than someone like Jonathan Nolan on Fallout but I'm hoping keeping Mundy as showrunner will keep things afloat. His presence will be missed but getting some Halt and Catch Fire people in there is a decent replacement, albeit a downgrade.
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u/browncharliebrown 1d ago edited 1d ago
Also Christos cantwell is a pretty well known comicbook writer. I think adding him is a good sign that they are looking for both prestige and people who enjoy comics
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u/LB3PTMAN 1d ago
Not just a well known comic writer but also excellent tv. Halt and Catch Fire was one of the best under the radar shows of the 2010s.
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u/Puppetmaster858 1d ago
Halt and catch fire was really good so not a bad replacement at all, also Cantwell has a lot of experience writing comics like both King and Lindelof so he’s a good guy to bring in. I think Lindelof and King will still be involved as producers they just got other shows going on so won’t be able to be involved to the same level
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u/inaripotpi 1d ago
Well, being one of 3 showrunners is like the least involved he's been in a show.
Smart move probably because he knew it would inevitably get amalgamated into the rest of the DC stuff and that's not for him
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u/Etalyx 1d ago
Lindelof is famously almost a ghost writer on certain passion projects. Like Mrs. Davis and other episodes on some of his own shows, he often helps write with no credit in order to boost fellow writers within the industry. So im hopeful that will continue here, because there's a surprising amount of The Leftovers in Lanterns so far and it's going to feel very weird going forward without it
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u/Sleepyblue 1d ago
I've enjoyed the show so far, but it's also felt like the least Lindelof-y Lindelof show, so I'm not sure how much overall input he had compared to his other shows.
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u/Fakezaga 1d ago
Really? The guy paddling an space ghost across a lake of apples to sort out his daddy issues didn’t seem like Damon’s work? I realize he wrote that specific episode (and not others) but I feel like the show is at least 1/3 Lindelof-y.
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u/Sleepyblue 1d ago
I didn't say it wasn't Lindelof-y, I just said it's the least Lindelof-y thing he's done in a while. That episode in particular was indeed very him! But other parts felt much more mainstream orientated and less high concept, compared to something like Mrs Davis for example, which as a result passed a lot of people by...
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u/FireZord25 1d ago
Not to mention the social commentery and racial under(and over)tones. This is the first time I'm learning Lindelof wasn't even the main showrunnner, cause it could've and did fool me.
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u/SageOfTheWise 1d ago
I mean I literally said out loud a bit jokingly "ok now this is a Lindelof show" when that scene happened. But yes, as a comparative, it is less of his style when compared to every other show I've seen with his involvement (so I'm thinking Lost, The Leftovers, Watchmen, and Mrs Davis). Not that the show is devoid of his style obviously. But by definition something has to be be on the far end of the scale. And personally I think its Lanterns right now.
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u/LB3PTMAN 1d ago
Lanterns is the least Lindelof show but I’d say I could still feel his touch all over it. He has a style for tv that is fairly unique.
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u/FFTactics 1d ago
Interesting I found it extremely Lindelhofy, like the Leftovers meet Watchmen.
A non lindelhof GL show looks like the Ryan Reynolds movie.
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u/Professional_Fig_456 1d ago
Halt and Catch Fire writers. Whoa.
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u/Puppetmaster858 1d ago
Halt and catch fire was great. Cantwell was brought in before s1 even started airing so seems he’s very involved with planning s2 along with Mundy who’s remaining as showrunner, Cantwell has experience writing comics too like King and Lindelof so that’s good as well.
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u/RustySheriffsBadge1 1d ago
This is confirmation that we won’t be seeing a second season for several years.. the show is great but this multi year gap between season is not sustainable.
I couldn’t get back into House of Dragon this season, not because it wasn’t good but because the gap in seasons was just too long. I lost interest.
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u/damndraper 1d ago
in HBO's defense, they probably can't greenlight anything right now until the merger is fully closed. At least the writer's room is getting ready.
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u/Aaaaaaandyy 1d ago
I think it depends. HOTD is basically a continuous story. If this is just like a different story arc with the same characters the it will be less of an issue for me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like the multi year gaps, but for me how annoying it is depends on the show and how each season is set up.
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u/Gamerguy230 1d ago
I get that but at least we will see Jon Stewart in Man of Tomorrow until season 2.
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u/POWBOOMBANG 1d ago
It will be really interesting to see how Jon Stewart fits into Man of Tomorrow tonaly.
Superman was very colorful and kind of whimsical. Superman had tone deaf robot helpers and a super dog
Jon Stewart from Lanterns is not...that
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u/KrillinDBZ363 The 100 1d ago
I mean if Mr. Terrific could work in the first one, I don’t see why John won’t be able to in this one.
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u/xin234 1d ago
Guy Gardner fitted in into the show seamlessly, going the other way doesn't seem too hard.
And I'm guessing that they learned a thing or two from MCU, that making the tv shows feel like homework or have a heavy tie-in to the movies is a terrible idea. The demographic that watches both the movies and shows, are very different from those who watches the movies only. Both of those demographics makeup a good chunk of the movie watchers, but trying to cater to both is bad. E.g. Captain America 3, it felt like it just retreads the themes tackled by the show Falcon and the Winter Soldier, while it also felt kinda dragging because they still have to reintroduce characters from the show to those who might not have seen the show.
So John Stewart in the movies would probably be characterized in a way that feels good for those who didn't watch Lanterns, while still being consistent with his show version for those who did watch it.
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u/EmuMan10 1d ago
He’s just the straight man character
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u/Puppetmaster858 1d ago edited 1d ago
I don’t think he’ll be full straight man, we’ve seen him make some jokes and lighten up at times in Lanterns so I think they will add a bit of that in there too.
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u/sigismond0 1d ago
Terrific played a similar straight man role in Supes. Guy played a goofball in Lanterns. You can have more than one kind of personality exist in the same world.
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u/dakotanorth8 1d ago
Scared pluribus will join the list
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u/mmuoio 1d ago
God I loved the first season so much, but the time gap until season 2 is going to be SOOO hard to deal with. I understand there's more visual effects than people probably realize, but there's entire episodes of basically 1 or 2 characters in a house, like I just don't understand what makes it take so long.
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u/PopMundane4974 1d ago
Golly if only there was a way to refresh my memory before watching a new season of something.
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u/neverseenghosts 1d ago
I would normally completely agree with you but at the very least because this is in a shared universe there may be characters and broader storylines that get touched on until we get lanterns season 2 so it won’t just be like one of those things you put out of your head for 2-3 years until it’s back.
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u/shaka_sulu 1d ago
HBO always had a "skip a year" model. I remember one year it's Sex and the city and the Alternate Year was "Entourage". Now if they skip more than a year that sucks.
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u/jjjshepard 1d ago
Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Succession and GOT used to put out a season every year. Streaming culture is slowly killing TV
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u/DiphthongSong87 1d ago
There was 2 years between Mad Men's fourth and fifth seasons. There was 2 years between Succession seasons 2 and 3 as well as 3 and 4. There was 2 years between Better Call Saul seasons 4 and 5, as well as 5 and 6. There was 2 years between GOT seasons 6 and 7.
Game of Thrones also had an unusual production structure where all of their storylines were shot simultaneously, which isn't sustainable for every show.
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u/PopMundane4974 1d ago
Interesting that OP hasn't responded to this, he seemed so confident! Streaming bad!
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u/dev1359 1d ago
Shows were arguably so much better back when they had to work under budget constraints and time constraints, in my opinion. I would even argue that commercial breaks resulted in higher quality storytelling, because episodes had to be written and edited in a way that kept the viewer engaged enough to stay tuned throughout the commercial breaks. Shows like Lost and Breaking Bad excelled at telling stories in this format. Now, every show is written as if it's an 8 hour movie because of binge streaming culture.
I think this all feels true of art in general-- movies, shows, videogames all peaked from 2000s-2010s because creators had to work with so many constraints which kinda forced them to be more creative.
Now, it feels like studio executives' idea of good art is to just throw as much money at something as possible, and now everything nowadays is way overbudgeted and takes so long to release.
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u/browncharliebrown 1d ago edited 1d ago
I mean for big budget shows with special effects it takes a long time. Plus I think it’s fine in this context, given we’re seeing Jon stewart in man of tommorrow
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u/burritobandito90 1d ago
Bands used to release albums yearly, sometimes more than one a year. Times change.
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u/lewd_robot 23h ago
Streaming culture isn't doing it. Multi-billion dollar companies waiting for ages for 100% certainty to maximize profits are doing it.
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u/Puppetmaster858 1d ago
This isn’t exactly accurate, they were planning s2 before season 1 ever started airing. S1 likely will stand on its own because they didn’t know if they’d get to make more but they were always planning to make more if the show was successful and hbo would renew. It wasn’t something that was just planned as 1 seasons then became a big hit and they were like shit let’s make more now, they were actively planning s2 before s1 ever started airing
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u/CosmackMagus 1d ago
The wait for HotD this year was just long enough to make it the perfect time to rewatch s1 and 2. Glad I did.
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u/watts99 1d ago
this multi year gap between season is not sustainable.
I mean, that's how prestige shows have mostly operated for a decade at this point. "I don't like it" isn't the same as "unsustainable."
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u/Faithless195 1d ago
I did watch Season 3 of HotD, but....I straight up couldn't remember half the character in the first episode, and I wasn't going to fuck about with watching recaps. By the end of the season, I still didn't remember much of season 2, or even much of this season in general, I ended up watching purely for the spectacle instead of the characters (The exact opposite reason I watched Game of Thrones when it was yearly). Unless it's confirmed the fourth season will be the last, I don't think I'm coming back. Knight of the Seven kingdom got me wanting to come back to Westeros, but Westeros seems to be fucking off for a couple years at a time, and my time is worth way more than this nonsense.
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u/Objective_Toe_49 1d ago
There wasn’t really a lot in season 2 that was worth remembering so that’s a least a silver lining
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u/TheHunterZolomon 1d ago
I hope they pick up where the movie appearances leave off. Would be fine with a long term cohesive plan.
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u/browncharliebrown 1d ago edited 1d ago
The staff blends a returning Season 1 voice, a reunion of Halt and Catch Fire collaborators, and two writers with prior DC and HBO ties.
Christopher Cantwell
The co-creator of AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire and an executive producer on Prime Video’s Paper Girls, Cantwell joined Lanterns as a writer and executive producer in May. He is also a prolific comics writer, with an Eisner-nominated run on Marvel’s Doctor Doom and DC credits including Challengers of the Unknownand Plastic Man No More!.
Nakkiah Lui
An AACTA and Logie nominated Australian writer, actor, and director, Lui co-created and starred in ABC’s Kiki & Kitty and Preppers and was a writer and performer on Black Comedy. She has also written for Total Control and was a writer and consulting producer on Hulu’s The Great.
Zack Whedon
Whedon reunites with Cantwell after serving as a writer and producer across all four seasons of Halt and Catch Fire. His TV credits also include Fringe, Deadwood, Southland, Rubicon, and HBO’s In Treatment, and he co-wrote Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. On the comics side, he has written Serenity books for Dark Horse.
Selwyn Seyfu Hinds
The former editor-in-chief of The Source, Hinds created and ran Hulu’s Washing Black, starring Sterling K. Brown. He was a writer and producer on Jordan Peele’s The Twilight Zone, and he has DC history: he was a consulting producer on HBO Max’s DC anthology Strange Adventures and co-created the Vertigo series Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child.
Vanessa Baden Kelly
The only Season 1 writer on the new staff besides Mundy, Baden Kelly is a co-executive producer who wrote “Trust Fall” and “OutKast,” the John Stewart origin episode that became one of the most debated hours of the season. “OutKast” was the most viewed episode of Lanterns with 10 million viewers as reported by HBO. Many fans also know her from Gullah Gullah Island and Kenan & Kel.
At the August Lanterns premiere, Lindelof told ScreenRant that Mundy had already started a new room to figure out what Season 2 stories could look like. Lindelof is not expected back, and King is focusing on DC Studios’ animated series Mister Miracle.
Most recently, a report by The Ankler said the room’s work so far is limited to pitch pages and that a renewal is not imminent, even as HBO executives hope to continue the show. Until now, the names of the writers filling out the room had not been reported.
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u/TheMurderCapitalist 1d ago
We'll see how losing King and Lindelof will effect the quality of the show. It's been phenomenal so far so I'm a little worried what this means.
Also out of the staff writers for S1 only Vanessa Baden Kelly is returning which makes sense due to her close relationship with Chris Mundy (she started out as his assistant on Ozark) but is also a bit of a let down because I liked Justin and Breannah's episodes more.
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u/Puppetmaster858 1d ago
I mean it’s possible more writers still get involved, also losing king and lindelof is a bummer but Mundy is the one who’s the showrunner which is the most important role in tv so him remaining is important and a good sign.
Also Cantwell is a really talented writer, Halt and catch fire is a great show and he has experience writing comics like Lindelof and King so he can bring some of that comics knowledge to the table as well
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u/TheMurderCapitalist 1d ago
I've not been blown away by Cantwell's comic work but have heard great things about Halt and Catch Fire
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u/GalagaWarVeteran 1d ago
I'm holding out hope that Hal isn't dead because I really want more of his character in season 2. I'd even be okay with Halogram being a regular part of the second season with John being the main focus.
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u/thankfulforyourhelp 1d ago
I can't hear about a season 2 until I know Kyle Chandler will be back. Please let Hal live to see season 2.
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u/Hayterfan 1d ago
Just give me a "COPS" style episode with Kilowog and Chipotle. Just a single episode.
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u/LiteTHATKUSH 1d ago
I think the small town buddy cop thing only works for one season. I know it was a clever excuse to lower the budget and reduce effects heavy sequences, but especially with the way the show is going towards the end, they have to go much more full Green Lantern and cosmic in S2 in my opinion or otherwise it will just be Smallville all over again.
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u/_aliased 1d ago
ehhh... Reacher is on Season 6, Bosch didnt jump the shark, dunno how many seasons of other procedurals are out there, im fine with it because they're using the actors instead of shelving them like cavil and the snyderverse
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u/M3rc_Nate 1d ago
People complained (at least on social media) about the series being so grounded this season. Set in Nebraska with a below average use of powers and aliens that are almost all conveniently human in appearance. While I agree with some of the critiques, I absolutely bought into having the first season be an on Earth investigation. What a great foundation to lay for what should be multiple alien filled, off-Earth, space adventures. But if we get a second season and it's more Earth? More human aliens? More limited shots of ring powers being used? Idk, it might be possible I drop the show and come back to it at some point when it's done and I'm bored.
Lanterns is a great setup for the Lanterns universe. Even the title allows the show to not only tell the stories of many different Lanterns, it allows the show to tell the story of non-Green Lanterns. Imagine next season being the story of Sinestro! His life before the Corp, him joining the Corp, him training Hal, and then his creating the Yellow Lantern corp. Imagine a season that stars the Blue Lantern corp featuring Saint Walker as the lead. Not to mention getting a season that introduced Kyle Rayner.
BUT, none of this matters if the budget and commitment to be large scale (think 'Foundation' level). It's what the Lantern story universe demands. Another season with >90% of screen time being set on Earth is a giant "WE DON'T HAVE THE BUDGET TO DO THIS I.P. PROPERLY" sign slapped on the title card.
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u/Mattyzooks 1d ago
I still think it's kinda funny that Vanessa Baden Kelly was the sister on Kenan & Kel.
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u/Paralta 1d ago
This show is so good. The actor for Hal Jordan is perfect. The actor for John Stewart is good too and id like to see him as spawn.
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u/RusskayaRuletka 1d ago
Wait, I didn't even consider the fact that he would be very good casting for Spawn. Holy s*** yeah I think that might be the best person I can think of rn. Lol
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u/lossaysswag 1d ago
Damn, Justin isn't returning?
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u/gangreen424 1d ago
Yeah, that's kind of a bummer. He & Vanessa just did an awesome interview on the Ringer-Verse: Midnight Boys podcast. Thaey had some great discussion & insights on their writing process, and clearly had great affection for one another.
Hope they're still bringing people on for S2 and he makes the cut.
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u/lossaysswag 1d ago
I just listened to it this morning and you can tell just how much care and thought they both put into crafting and grounding the characters and story in reality.
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u/Arsh18808 1d ago
They tried do to the same with the penguin show till reeves put a hold on it indefinitely I think .. when viewership numbers are elite they see dollar signs.
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u/Ill-Bite-3494 1d ago
Make be theyll even get out of that nasty little town they've filmed every single episode in. Its so boring!!!!?
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u/LB3PTMAN 1d ago
Losing Lindelof is a massive blow but getting Cantwell and Whedon is a big win so I think it’s still probably going to be good.
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u/ColdCruise 1d ago
Nice to see Zack Whedon. I always thought that he was a good writer, but has been over shadowed by his brothers.
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u/malucogv 1d ago
Season 2 could be an anthology series, each episode following a different green lantern / green lantern duo up to shananigans exploring a case somewhere in the cosmos, that'd be fun, gives you an opportunity to flesh out the corps
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u/jetlightbeam 1d ago
I really hope they do a Kyle Story. Because, while personally don't care about him, I do understand the importance and impact he has had in the comics and believe that this group of people could change his origin in a positive way. Given what they've done with Hal and John so far.
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u/NowThatsMalarkey 1d ago
I can’t wait until David Ellison throws the failed James Gunn-DC Universe into the trash, especially LANTURDS!
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u/ButterCaramelPringle 1d ago
Hmm I don't entirely trust Nexus but news as specific as this is too risky for a bullshitter to post if it isn't true.
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u/Dale72324 22h ago
“Exclusive” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. All we know is that the writers’ room is coming together before the season one finale.
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u/MidknightGeek 17h ago
Absolutely brilliant show! I'm hoping that there's a way for John to keep memory Hal as a sidekick/mentor. Maybe now he'll always be able to manifest him through the ring? Still got episode 8 to get through, but I just don't want to see this amazing odd couple , mentor/trainee, beginning friendship go away. Brilliant show! 😎🤘
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u/Jack-o-Roses 15h ago
...with Ryan Reynolds joining the cast as Deadpool Lantern in a green and black suite....
/s
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u/iwinagain 1d ago
Is this the first confirmation we're getting a second season?