By Nikita Francois
Friday’s Lanterns panel at San Diego Comic-Con was stacked with panelists Aaron Pierre (John Stewart); Kyle Chandler (Hal Jordan); Garret Dillahunt (William Macon); and Poorna Jagannathan (Zoe), along with co-creators Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy, and Tom King.
In regards to his character Jordan’s calling, Chandler spoke about how “the fact he was chosen gave him confidence” in comparison to how Pierre’s character comes into the storyline as a trainee. Pierre spoke warmly about the six-month shoot, which predominately took place on-location.
Co-creator King made it a point to address the crowd to share his genuine passion for what he does: “Guys, I’m just a fucking nerd from Southern California. I used to come to this con as a kid, I’d wait in line for this hall, I started my career hand-selling my little mini comic books on the other side of that wall, begging people please to buy two copies.
“The honor to be up here with these people presenting this fucking amazing nerdy superhero blast of a show—I’m supposed to say how grateful I am for you people, for you nerds for fucking showing up…” he continued.
HBO Max came in hot, giving us SEVEN scenes to preview during the panel.
Spoilers ahead!
Attendees were treated to an exclusive, never-before-seen look at one of the scenes from Lanterns in which John Stewart is waiting on a sidewalk when Hal Jordan squeals up, music blasting from his car. After Stewart gets in, he expresses his frustration over spending two nights training but not having the opportunity to wear the ring yet. Jordan decides to test whether or not he’s ready by suddenly rolling out of the car, leaving Stewart headed full-speed towards the edge of a cliff.
The Lanterns panel also previewed a second scene of Jordan in interrogation mode with a special visitor. While the tension builds in the interrogation room, the scene also reveals a softer side of Stewart, who looks on while drawing and expressing his respect for Jordan.
In the third scene, Stewart is recruited on a special overseas mission that has had three previously failed attempts. While he appears to be no-nonsense and ready to take on the challenge without question, the last person charged with the same task hasn’t been heard from in months, leaving us to wonder if Stewart is being set-up or is in over his head.
Nathan Fillion came out after this scene and teased his Lanterns appearance with a very short clip.
In another scene, Stewart meets Zoe for the first time at a bar, while Jordan intentionally engages in a bar fight in order to gain access into a jail. While the fight takes place of the background, Stewart and Zoe‘s relationship develops.
Audience members also got a fun look at a more humorous dynamic between Stewart and Jordan, as the news of Stewart’s recent fling with a married woman takes Jordan by surprise.
Lastly, the Lanterns panel showed a scene with Sinestro, who sees the truth about Jordan’s intentions, followed by an action-packed fight scene between Stewart and Jordan. Towards the end of the fight, Jordan reveals that Stewart is being trained to replace him and not just be his backup.
This panel was nonstop with exclusive footage, and the passion and joy shared by the Lanterns cast and co-creators was palpable as they spoke about their experiences filming.
To close out the panel, King officially revealed that Laura Linney will appear in Lanterns Season 1 as one of the Guardians.
Lanterns will premiere on HBO Max on August 16.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more news from SDCC ’26.
