After almost five years since its announcement from veteran DC Comics show producer Greg Berlanti, DC’s live-actionGreen Lanternseries has finally received an official series production order to be released on HBO. Simply calledLanterns, the eight-episode series will be produced by Chris Mundy and co-written by Damon Lindelof and Tom King. No one has been cast in the series yet andLanterns’ release window is still unknown.
Despite this lack of detail, King tweeted that he and other members of theLanternscrew have been working on the series for over a year. In terms of story,Lanternswill follow Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart of Sector 2814 as they take part in an original detective story. However, theGreen Lanternmythos is far greater than just Jordan and Stewart; DC Comics could use this opportunity to cover other stories and characters of the Corps that the show doesn’t have time to spotlight in a newGreen Lanterngame.
The Structure and Powers of the Green Lantern Corps
TheGreen Lanterns are an intergalactic police forceoverseen by the ancient guardians of the universe and based on the planet of Oa. Here, the Guardians crafted the most powerful weapon in the galaxy, the Green Lantern rings, powered by the green light of will from the interdimensional emotional spectrum that makes up all life in existence. At least two rings are sent out to each of the 3600 sectors overseen by the Guardians to select hosts that demonstrate the ability to overcome great fear. Once chosen, these people will be inducted into the Green Lantern Corps to bring justice and order to their sectors, and to the universe at large if necessary.
With the Green Lantern ring, Corps members can create green light constructs of any object or creature limited only to the wielder’s imagination. However, these constructs are not all powerful and can be destroyed under immense force, if a ring’s charge is depleted, or if the Lantern is overcome with fear. For most of the Corps’ history, anything yellow colored was immune to Lantern attacks due to an impurity from the Central Power Battery, later revealed to be the entity of fear, Parallax. The rings additionally provide Lantern’s with the ability to travel in space at high speeds and translate any language in the known universe. These powers and goals could provide the base gameplay and objective structure fora hypotheticalLanternsspinoff game.
The Green Lanterns have only had one video game dedicated solely to them: 2011’sGreen Lantern: Rise of the Manhuntersset after the events of the 2011Green Lanternfilm.
Potential Corps Members in a Lanterns Game
While plot details forLanternsare largely unknown, other members of the Corps are unlikely to be heavily focused on with Jordan and Stewart leading an investigation. Instead, theLanternsgame could highlight the Corps overall, including some important missions and its more notable members. It’s unknown whenLanternswill take place in the DC timeline, but Earth is home to at least seven active GLs, excluding the magic-powered original Lantern Alan Scott.Guy Gardner is already set to appear in James Gunn’sSuperman,played by Nathan Fillion, so Gardner could appear as a guide for new players in the Corps alongside the fan-favorite Lantern instructor Kilowog.
If there are other Earth Lanterns beyond Jordan, Stewart, and Gardner, theLanternsgame could briefly explain how people such as Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, Jesssica Cruz, or Sojourner Mullein joined the Corps. One of these younger Lanterns could even be the protagonist of the game as they struggle to learn how to be a Lantern and combat galactic foes. Along the way, the player could encounter some of the more bizarre, alien, but often charming members of the Corps, such as the Rot Lop Fan, the squid-like Penelops, or eventhe living planet Mogo. Each of these characters can teach players new abilities while illustrating how diverse the Corps and the universe at large is.
Potential Future Lanterns Plotlines
In addition to providing players with unique abilities and lore, the characters of theLanternsgame could help expand the new DC cinematic universe and future plotlines for the show. For example, if the show’s second season is set primarily in space, various galactic governments and their people could be introduced in the game, such as the galactic Rann-Thanagar War. If Jordan and Stewart’s investigation sets up future conflicts such astheSinestro Corps WarorBlackest Night, DC Comics could further tease these events in aLanternsgame by having theGreen Lanternencounter new Corps as both foes and allies or by helping recruit more lanterns to bolster the Corps ranks for an emerging war.
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