Lanterns season 2 will be told in a "slightly different way" but seemingly won't be a True Detective-style anthology

Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy says season 2 is being mapped out right now and will be told in a "slightly different way"

"The question is whether [season two] is a story people are interested in," Mundy told The Hollywood Reporter. "If that's the case, then we’ll get to do another one. We'll tell it in a slightly different way, so that it feels fresh, with characters you know and care about."

Of the ongoing pre-production plans, Mundy added, "We're about six weeks into laying out a season, and then we'll talk to folks about it really soon."

Given the title of Lanterns, there had been some expectation – including from myself, admittedly – that each season would go full True Detective and follow a different Lantern and new crime each season.

But given the talk of "characters you know and care about", there could be some familiar faces back and rocking the ring instead. So, likely no Kyle Rayner, Jessica Cruz, or more obscure Lanterns like Saarek.

Is that a good thing? Well, I'll just say this: I didn't know how much I wanted a Guy Gardner and John Stewart buddy cop duo until now. Make it happen, James Gunn.

Speaking of Gunn, Mundy reaffirmed that the DC Studios boss never meddled in the narrative ahead of John Stewart's appearance in 2027 Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow.

"We knew we were putting John on his feet, but there wasn’t an actual story point that we had to land him on," Mundy said. "In one way, it makes it scarier because it could be anything, but at the same time, we weren’t shoehorned into anything at all."

Lanterns is currently airing new episodes every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.

For more, check out the Lanterns release schedule. We also have a list of prime suspects behind episode 1's shocking whodunnit.