'Lanterns' Season 2 Confirmed? Potential Release Date, Plot, and Everything You Need to Know

John Stewart will return... but when?

The season finale of HBO’s Lanterns brought the story of Earth’s first Green Lantern, Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), and his replacement, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), to an emotionally cathartic conclusion. Now that the mysteries of Rushville, Nebraska, and Hal’s murder have been solved, and the story has been neatly concluded, it's unclear whether the series needs to continue (aside from its clear on ramp to a Stewart appearance in Man of Tomorrow). But if you want to see John become a real superhero in his own right, you might be wondering if more episodes of Lanterns are in the works. Here’s everything we know about Lanterns season 2, including the potential release date and plot details.

Is Lanterns season 2 confirmed?

No. HBO has not officially greenlit a second season of Lanterns despite the fact that it has been both a critical and commercial success. Lanterns racked up 6.6 million U.S. viewers in its first three days on HBO, nearly matching the 6.7 million viewers who watched A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms within the first three days of its launch in January. The Game of Thrones spinoff was renewed well ahead of its series premiere. Lanterns’ audience only grew as the season went on, averaging 12 million U.S. viewers per episode.

The delay is probably due to uncertainty over the future of the DC Universe tied to the pending merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance. James Gunn and Peter Safran have said they will continue to lead DC Studios after the merger, but several planned TV series were scrapped in August after Supergirl bombed at the box office.

Despite that, series co-creator Damon Lindelof recently told Collider that some of the show’s writers are working on ideas for season 2. Lindelof won’t be part of that work, which will be led by co-creators Chris Mundy and Tom King. Lindelof previously said he always imagined Lanterns could run for multiple seasons.

“We want the audience to be really hungry for more when it ends,” he said in a virtual press conference ahead of the series premiere. “I think that it feels like it was a really good meal, but a couple of hours after you’ve consumed it, you’re going to say, ‘I think I want to spend some more time in that world.’”

What is the plot of Lanterns season 2?

King hinted at what he’d like to do next in Lanterns in a separate press conference ahead of the season finale. He explained that John’s custom version of the Green Lantern oath was inspired by Geoff Johns' Green Lantern run, where the former Green Lantern Sinestro created his own Yellow Lantern Corps whose members channeled the power of fear. In Lanterns, Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) explains that “fear can be the most powerful force in the universe.”

John abandoned Sinestro on a planet where the very air and water are contaminated by fear, so he’ll have plenty of time to learn all about that power. He’s already shown he is capable of forging a lantern on his own, and if he can figure out how to make his own ring, he’ll once again be a terrible threat to the Guardians of the Universe and the new Green Lantern of Earth.

When will Lanterns season 2 be released?

Even if Lanterns does get a second season, it will be a while before it returns to HBO. Peacemaker, HBO’s first live-action DC series, premiered in January 2022. It was renewed for a second season a month later, but season 2 didn’t premiere until August 2025. Assuming Lanterns follows a similar pattern, we probably wouldn’t see more until 2029.

Where will John Stewart appear next in the DCU?

Luckily, you won’t have to wait that long to see John Stewart officially take on the role of Green Lantern. James Gunn’s next DCU film, Man of Tomorrow, will feature John as well as Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), the Green Lantern who replaced Hal Jordan when John refused to work for The Guardians of the Universe. They’ll be battling Brainiac alongside a host of other superheroes, including Superman, Supergirl, Mister Terrific, and Hawkgirl. The film premieres on July 9, 2027.