Given how big of a hit that Lanterns was on HBO Max, and how many threads seemed open for continuation as the series ended, many assumed that season 2 was a sure thing. Well, that may not be the case, and even if it is, there is some news that does not sound ideal regarding its future plans.

Peter Safran, co-head of DC alongside James Gunn, spoke about the prospect of Lanterns season 2, saying that we should know something one way or the other before the end of the year, now just two and a half months away.

“If we’re able to come up with what we believe to be a worthy successor to a beloved and great first season, that’s what’s going to dictate whether there’s a second season,” Safran said.

This is rather confusing, given that Lanterns is being treated like a miniseries that surpassed expectations and may be renewed as a result, when in reality it was always pitched as a standard series that was supposed to run more than one season. That would imply that the writers should have had a handle on where things would go before this, and if they still don’t have that set now with a 2.5-month deadline ahead, that doesn’t sound great. All of this is on top of the fact that Lanterns was a huge ratings hit for HBO Max and the DCU in general.

Writing season 1, there are so many obvious cliffhangers that needed to be resolved it’s a bit bizarre not to have had solid continuations in motion already. We have trapped Sinestro on the fear planet. We have Jon Stewart using what appears to be a fear-infested Lantern. We have Jon likely about to go head-to-head with the Guardians. We have an extremely obvious hint from Sinestro that if Jon activated Hal’s ring (which he did), there was some way to bring Hal back to life, something fans are dying to see, given that many believe he’s the best-cast character in the DCU so far, given an excellent performance by Kyle Chandler.

One issue here could be the dramatic shift of the writing team, racking up a 90% new squad with big names like Tom King and Damon Lindelof leaving. Again, it seems odd that if this show was planned for more seasons, they wouldn’t have gotten them to stick around for another one, at least.

All of this reminds me of what happened with Vince Gilligan and Pluribus , a viewership and critical hit that again, seemed to have no real plan after season 1, according to Gilligan himself, and to “crack” a second season took months after it first aired, meaning season 2 of that show is likely to have a 2.5-3 year break until it returns.

What we know for sure is that Jon Stewart, presumably in full costume as the official Green Lantern of Earth now, is appearing in Man of Tomorrow next year. What this means for Justice Gang member Guy Gardner, after Jon booted him off the planet, is unclear. We don’t know how big either character’s role will be, given that this is mainly a Lex and Superman vs. Braniac story, also with Supergirl in a big role. And a Wonder Woman tease is likely to be in there somewhat too. We’ll see next summer, but hopefully we get some more Green Lantern season 2 news soon. And hopefully it involves resurrecting Hal Jordan.

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