HBO Max’s Green Lantern series Lanterns has dropped episode 3, “OutKast,” and this one finally gets into the Guardians of the Universe, along with the reason they want John Stewart to take over for Hal Jordan as Earth’s Green Lantern.
In “OutKast,” Lanterns lays out a lot of history at once. The immortal, blue-skinned Guardians came from Maltus and relocated to Oa after a failed time experiment connected to the DC Multiverse and the anti-matter universe. Before the Sector-666 massacre, they created the Manhunters, then went on to build the 7,200-member Green Lantern Corps spread across 3,600 sectors. The episode also rewrites a big piece of DC canon: instead of a ring finding you in a moment of crisis, the Guardians decided John Stewart’s father was too fearful, made a deal with Bernadette Stewart, and started shaping John’s life when he was still a kid. Laura Linney’s Lianna puts a face on that plan by interviewing John Stewart as if he’s already Hal’s successor. If you’re watching Lanterns for the darker side of Green Lantern mythology, this is the episode to put on, even with the show’s grounded, True Detective-style approach muting a lot of the comic-book flash, including flight, telepathy, time travel, astral projection, force fields, energy manipulation, and reality warping. That approach has already divided fans more than critics.
Lanterns premiered on August 16, 2026, as a heartland murder mystery centered on Hal Jordan and John Stewart. HBO Max says it pulled in 9.3 million viewers in its first three days and became the service’s biggest DC series premiere. It’s also sitting at 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can watch Lanterns on HBO Max.
