Published Sep 21, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
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Lanterns has already established a very different corner of the DC Universe. Rather than rushing straight into cosmic action, HBO’s series centers Hal Jordan and John Stewart inside a grounded murder mystery, giving the Green Lantern lore room to feel strange without overwhelming the characters. The show premiered on August 16, 2026, with Kyle Chandler as Hal and Aaron Pierre as John, while Ulrich Thomsen plays longtime enemy Sinestro.
Although HBO has not officially ordered a Lanterns Season 2, showrunner Chris Mundy has said he and Christopher Cantwell are already breaking a potential second-season story. That makes this an especially interesting moment to look at Green Lantern’s enormous rogues gallery. The next villain does not necessarily need to be the biggest cosmic monster; several classic enemies could preserve the show’s detective-driven tone while gradually widening its lore.
Hector Hammond is almost tailor-made for the version of Green Lantern that Lanterns is presenting. He debuted in Green Lantern #5 in 1961, where the brilliant criminal uses an unusual meteor to accelerate the evolution of four scientists and exploit their discoveries. His obsession with science, manipulation, and Hal Jordan makes him much closer to a traditional mystery villain than a generic super-powered brute.
A second-season Hammond could turn that foundation into a genuinely unsettling investigation. Instead of arriving with an army, he could hide behind laboratories, shell companies, or research programs while Hal and John (if they are both still in the second season) slowly discover what he is building. His mind-based abilities could also make the case personal, allowing Hammond to attack information, memories and trust rather than simply overpowering the Lanterns. That would fit a show built around secrets while giving the series another memorable Earth-based antagonist.
William Hand, better known as Black Hand, first appeared in Green Lantern #29 in 1964. His original gimmick involved draining residual energy left behind by Green Lantern’s ring use, but Geoff Johns’ later Green Lantern lore transformed him into something far darker. Green Lantern #43 set up Black Hand at the heart of the story leading into* Blackest Night* and connected him directly to the Black Lantern Corps.
That history gives *Lanterns *Season 2 a chance to introduce supernatural horror without abandoning the show’s crime-story foundation. A string of seemingly impossible deaths, strange black energy, and a suspect who knows far too much about Lantern technology could lead John and Hal toward Hand. He also works because his threat can begin quietly before expanding into something that completely changes how the partners understand the universe. Black Hand could make the series considerably darker without abandoning its procedural roots.
Atrocitus brings a very different kind of danger. He first appeared in Green Lantern #25 in 2007 and was established as a survivor of the Manhunters’ massacre in Sector 666. Driven by revenge against the Guardians, Atrocitus eventually harnessed red energy to create the Red Lantern Corps. His motivation is straightforward, but his history connects directly to one of the oldest failures in the Lantern lore.
That makes Atrocitus especially useful after a grounded first season. Hal and John could investigate a crime that initially looks unrelated to the Corps before discovering evidence of an old Guardian cover-up. Atrocitus would not need to dominate every episode. His presence could function as the terrifying endpoint of the investigation, while his accusations force the Green Lanterns to question whether the institution they serve has always deserved their loyalty. His Red Lantern lore also expands the franchise beyond the green light naturally.
Larfleeze is the character who could inject a completely different flavor into Lanterns without becoming a simple joke villain. The Orange Lantern is defined by avarice, to the point that DC has described the Orange Lantern Corps as effectively a one-person organization. His obsession with possessing everything makes him fundamentally different from villains who want to rule or destroy the universe.
The television version could turn that greed into a mystery involving missing artifacts, stolen technology, and seemingly unrelated disappearances. Larfleeze’s arrival might initially look ridiculous compared with the show’s grim tone, but that contrast could become an advantage. Once viewers understand that his orange power can create constructs and that he refuses to share his power, the character could become a bizarre but dangerous test of how far the Green Lanterns are willing to bend the rules. His 12-issue solo series also proves there is plenty of material to mine.
Mongul is not originally a Green Lantern villain, but his history with the lore makes him an obvious candidate for a larger second-season escalation. The tyrant debuted in DC Comics Presents #27 in 1980 and later became deeply tied to Green Lantern history, particularly through Warworld and Hal Jordan’s personal tragedies. His greatest strength is scale, as Mongul can make the DC cosmic side feel enormous without requiring a completely new lore.
The smart way to use him would be restraint. Rather than turning Lanterns Season 2 into a Warworld war immediately, the show could introduce Mongul through evidence, intercepted communications, or a seemingly impossible extraterrestrial crime. The Green Lanterns would gradually learn that their small investigation is connected to a ruler operating far beyond Earth. That approach would preserve the show’s mystery structure while opening the door to a much bigger DC universe. Mongul also gives the series a clear path toward more cosmic storytelling later.
Evil Star is one of the more unusual choices, which is exactly why he could work. The alien scientist debuted in Green Lantern #37 in 1965, bringing with him the Star Band and the Starlings. His original story mixed a strange cosmic scheme with Hal Jordan’s increasingly complicated journey to Oa, giving the character a built-in connection to the kind of science-fiction mystery Lanterns already favors.
A modern adaptation could completely reinvent the tone without losing the core idea. Imagine Hal and John investigating a series of astronomical anomalies that eventually reveal a scientist manipulating stellar energy from Earth. The Starlings could become creepy artificial servants rather than goofy comic-book henchmen. Evil Star would also let the series explore the danger of scientific obsession, making him a particularly useful bridge between the show’s human-scale crime story and the stranger elements of Green Lantern lore.
The Shark is another Silver Age enemy who fits the show’s grounded opening unusually well. He first appeared in Green Lantern #24 in 1963 as a mysterious predator hunting human beings. Later versions expanded his origins and abilities, but the basic concept remains wonderfully simple: something impossible is attacking people, and Green Lantern has to determine what it is before the threat spreads.
That is almost a ready-made Lanterns episode engine. John and Hal could begin with a string of brutal attacks near the coast, with witnesses describing an enormous creature that should not exist. The investigation could move from local evidence to alien biology and eventually reveal that the Shark is not merely a monster. A season-long mystery built around him could preserve the show’s procedural identity while letting the Green Lantern lore become increasingly bizarre. The character could also provide one of the franchise’s creepiest creature-based stories.
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Science Fiction
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Alik Sakharov, James Hawes, Stephen Williams, Geeta Patel
Damon Lindelof, Chris Mundy, Tom King, Vanessa Baden Kelly, Justin Britt-Gibson, Breannah Gibson
Lanterns is a 2026 DC superhero detective series centered on veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan and new recruit John Stewart. The two intergalactic peacekeepers investigate a murder in Nebraska, drawing them into a dark Earth-based mystery with deeper implications for both men.