Some Disappointing News About ‘Lanterns’ Season 2 On HBO Max

‘Lanterns’ is a huge hit for DC and HBO Max, but there is some not great news about season 2 that’s being reported.

Photograph by John Johnson/HBO Max

Lanterns has been a huge hit for DC, HBO Max and WB, and it’s all but certain that the show will be renewed for season 2 in short order, likely after season 1 ends, as perhaps the idea is that they don’t want viewers heading into this Sunday’s finale assuming there will be a cliffhanger. But now reporting is skipping ahead to some big news about season 2, and it doesn’t sound great.

According to a new report from NexusPointNews, the writers’ room for Lanterns season 2 is losing everyone except one returning member. That is Vanessa Baden Kelly, who wrote or co-wrote two episodes in season 1.

However, what that means is that all three co-creators, Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King will not be writing for season 2. They wrote or co-wrote five of the eight episodes in season 1. That is not to say that they won’t be involved with the show at all, but it is obviously somewhat unnerving, given how the show has been received with them writing so much of it. Now they’re not doing that. According to reports, Mundy is expected to remain the overall showrunner.

We do have a list of new writers being added, according to the report:

• Christopher Cantwell, co-creator of Halt and Catch Fire and writer of Marvel’s Doctor Doom comic.
• Nakkiah Lui – Total Control writer and consulting producer on The Great
• Zack Whedon – Yes, Joss Whedon’s brother of Marvel and DC’s past. But he has credits across all of Halt and Catch Fire, along with Deadwood, Southland and Fringe.
• Selwyn Seyfu Hinds – Writer and producer on the upcoming The Twilight Zone from Jordan Peele, and he was a producer on HBO Max’s DC series Strange Adventures.

I think it’s going to be very dicey to lose both Lindelof and Tom King rather than keeping the full existing crew together who helped make season 1 so good. However, I am at least heartened by the idea that there are two writers, Cantwell and Whedon, who worked extensively on the excellent and under-watched Halt and Catch Fire.

Again, Lanterns has not even officially been renewed for season 2, but it’s not unusual for a writers room to form before that happens. Depending on when filming starts, we would likely be at least a year and a half out from a second season, and the biggest question on everyone’s mind would be if Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan returns, as he’s become some fans’ favorite DCU character to date. That is likely an answer we will uncover in the upcoming finale this weekend.

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