The Green Lantern Corps officially made its presence felt in Los Angeles last night. At the premiere for HBO’s highly anticipated DC Studios series Lanterns, co-star Aaron Pierre turned heads before he even set foot on the carpet, arriving in a sleek green Ardennes McLaren 750S.
Pierre, who steps into the boots of fan-favorite cosmic hero John Stewart, set the tone for an evening.
Co-star Kyle Chandler, who plays Hal Jordan, joined Pierre, showrunner Chris Mundy, and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn to celebrate the debut of the dark, mystery-driven superhero drama. Also on hand was P-Valley star J. Alphonse Nicholson, who plays John Stewart’s father, Elliot Stewart, in the series. But Gunn wasn’t content keeping the excitement confined to the premiere carpet; he unleashed the first five minutes of the pilot episode online earlier, giving fans a raw, unfiltered look at the show’s intense tone.
The newly released opening sequence opens in 1996 with a young John Stewart transfixed by a television interview featuring veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan. In the broadcast, Hal explains the core requirement of the Green Lantern Corps: to wear the ring, one must show absolute fearlessness. The moment of childhood admiration is abruptly cut short when John’s father arrives home in military fatigues. He orders young John outside, grabbing an apple on his way out.
John places the apple on top of his head, standing without blinking or shaking. His father pulls out his pistol, aims directly at the apple, and shouts, “Are you afraid?”
“No, sir,” John replies, his voice unwavering.
J. Alphonse Nicholson attends the Lanterns premiere in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/xi92VuV8j2
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Elliot fires. The bullet shatters the apple, splattering pieces of apple onto the garage wall behind them. With multiple bullet holes already in the wall, we see that this is a recurring moment in the Stewart household, setting the military-style tone that molded John into a fearless leader long before he ever received the ring. Without so much as a flinch, John is pulled into his father’s arms, stroked on the head, and told it’s time to eat.
The scene jumps ten years into the future, where an adult John Stewart, now played by Pierre, is seen inside a dusty gym, beating a heavy bag. After wrapping up his workout, an older, beat-up car pulls up outside, driven by Hal Jordan himself, who casually apologizes for his late arrival. The moment bridges John’s childhood hero worship with the reality of their new, grounded partnership as intergalactic investigators on Earth.
Described by Gunn and Mundy as a True Detective-style mystery set on Earth, Lanterns follows veteran intergalactic cop Hal Jordan as he takes on new recruit John Stewart to investigate a dark, ground-level murder in the American heartland.
Lanterns premieres on HBO Max Sunday, August 16 at 9 pm ET. Check out the trailer below.
