HBO Max 2026 Sizzle Reel Reveals First DC Studios ‘Lanterns’ Teaser

Right on the heels of the first trailer for DC Studios’ Supergirl, audiences have their first official footage for HBO’s Lanterns, the second DC Studios project of the year. The footage stems from a HBO Max sizzle reel advertising the HBO Max and HBO slate for 2026, heavily featuring looks at House of the Dragon Season 3, Euphoria Season 3, Dune: Prophecy Season 2, and much more.

The footage released showcases a clip from seemingly one of the earlier episodes, featuring Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart. Watch the first teaser for Lanterns below:

What Happens In The ‘Lanterns’ HBO Max Sizzle Reel Footage?

The footage opens with Hal and John entering a press conference, followed by shots of John in what appears to be a military base at night time. Over the scene, Pierre’s John can be heard saying “I’ve trained my whole life for this.” The next shot sees Hal and John enter a room through plastic curtains. This is likely a morgue or crime scene, holding the body that the show is about them investigating. The next sequence sees Hal driving a car with John Stewart as passenger. The narration for the footage by Chandler’s Hal states “You’re not ready to get up in front of the class until the ring says you are.”

At this point, Hal places his Green Lantern ring on the dashboard of the car, unbuckles his seatbelt and jumps from the moving vehicle. This ring is quite different from Green Lantern Guy Gardner’s ring, which we previously saw in Superman and Peacemaker Season 2.

The car drives off the side of a cliff. This means John must grab the ring and use his willpower to create a construct or fly from the moving vehicle, and is likely what will happen in the actual show. The car registration in this scene reads “ZABM54.” We weren’t able to find what this might be a reference to, but in comic book adaptations, license plates usually are references to something.

A scene later in the sizzle reel sees John running down a highway, seemingly shortly after the car sequence. It’s probable that the first look at Lanterns, which showcased Hal and John walking down a desert road, takes place after both of these scenes.

The footage only lasts 12 seconds but does give us our first look at footage in the series. We also got a look at the logo, and seemingly the shade of green that the series will be using in promotion, which we have conveniently isolated below.

Lanterns is created by Chris Mundy, developed by Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, and stars Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, Kelly Macdonald, Nathan Fillion, and more.

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