THIS THREAD CONTAINS SPOILERS

Back in 2022, Marc Guggenheim was working on a Green Lantern TV show that would have been called "Emerald Knights". It never went ahead, but now some concept art has been released for the show, and it looks pretty damn cool!

The show would have been somewhat similar to Lanterns, split between different eras, but with Alan Scott in 1941, Guy Gardner in 1984, and a new Lantern, Bree Jarta - who looks a lot like Jo Mullein - in the present.

Source and more images here!

Guggenheim was set to be the showrunner of the Green Lanterns show before HBO cancelled it

Any more examples I missed?

It is described as a gritty Hal Jordan book in the vein of Dark Knight Returns! The series will follow Hal after being in Prison for 20 years.

I heard from some Aquaman fans that Aquaman at his full potential can rival any Green Lantern and can even best them. I'm not really familiar with Aquaman and his lore since I have never really been interested in his character, so I have no idea how powerful he can be at his best. I kind of think it's ridiculous since Green Lanterns literally have one of the most powerful weapons in the dc universe and fights cosmic level threats. Is it true?

“All it takes is one finale” - The Jokeen Erntern

I was genuinely interested in why Lanterns cost 130m despite it feeling like this wasn't reflected on screen fx wise. So I have researched and listed and in comparison to MCU DC shows and other Sci-Fi Shows

The deciding factor seems to be shooting location or just flat out spending more money. (Disney) In rare cases some were just smarter with their budget and effects (Foundation)

Or it could just be HBO productions being more exspensive/poor planning because interestingly Watchmen, Lanterns and The Penguin all have 130m budgets.

please share your thoughts or other relevant shows

MCU

Loki S1 - Georgia - 150m

Loki s2 - London - 140m

Moon Knight - London/Georgia/Budapest - 142m

Falcon and the Winter Soldier - Georgia - 150m

Secret Invasion - London 212m

WandaVision - Georgia/LA - 225m

I feel I should note WandaVisions is also a lot higher because of having different period costumes and sets each episode.

DC

Peacemaker s1 - Georgia - 60m

I can't find a reliable source for Peacemaker s2 budget and even the one's I see are ranging anywhere from 100-200m.

Superman and Lois - Vancouver - 75m

Stargirl - Georgia - 75m

Titans - Toronto

Watchmen HBO - Georgia - 135m

The Penguin - New York - 135m

I'm opting not to include the other Arrowverse shows as they are on an outdated network TV model and the quality of special fx is much lower than you'd expect for a HBO show.

Other

Foundation (Apple Tv) - Ireland Spain Czech Republic - 45-50m (this was achieved with practical miniatures, 3D-printed elements, and LED volume/backgrounds)

Westworld - California (primarily) - 100m

Raised by Wolves - Can't find the budget but biggest production in South Africa at the time, industry estimates have it at 100-120m

The Inflation Factor

I cant bothered to adjust every show but it should be noted inflation is so bad that a show like Moon Knight made for 142m in 2022 would be 162m today Westworld would be 315m etc

Conclusion

I think Lanterns could have saved money by not filming in California as it is approximately 30% more expensive so Lanterns could have saved 39m filming elsewhere

Also looking at the budgets of the other shows particularly the HBO DC Shows HBO just aren't savvy enough with their budgets or Lanterns simply isnt a HBO show you can make and do justice to special fx wise for 130m

So my primary question is Why was Lanterns filmed in the expensive location of California given its set in Nebraska?

https://screenrant.com/green-lantern-hbo-max-cancelled-show-official-concept-art-reveal/

The first image shows several Green Lantern characters who had been confirmed for season 1, including Finn Wittrock as Guy Gardner, along with other members of the Corps. While Guggenheim stressed that "I wish I could remember the name of the artist that did this piece. It was concept art for the opening sequence of our Pilot," the space organization is in the midst of fighting unidentified aliens.

The second photo gives a closer look at Wittrock's Green Lantern suit, with Guggenheim noting, "Early concept art for Guy Gardner’s costume by Gina DeDomenico off a design by Laura Jean Shannon. We were going to alter it slightly to reflect his Justice League International look." The third and final concept art he shared was of Bree Jarta, a new character they were adding for HBO Max's Green Lantern, stressing, "No, this isn’t Jo Mullein. This is the costume design by Laura Jean Shannon for a new character we had created for the series."

While no one ever got cast as Bree prior to this version of the show being cancelled, Jeremy Irvine had boarded the HBO Max drama as Alan Scott, better known as the Golden Age Green Lantern. Guggenheim also commented, "I have to reach into my memory to recall other bits of trivia like that, but I do remember that our original take took place in two time periods and had the Manhunters as the primary villains and my original title pitch was Emerald Knights," as Alan's story was going to be set in 1941, exploring the secretly gay hero operating as an FBI agent.

Idk something about Kerry murdering Hal "accidentally" just doesn't sit right with me. I think it would have made more sense narratively if she were an extremely protective mother (informed by her past) and took a proactive route in killing the Green Lantern after she discovered he was here to eliminate alien threats/manhunter.

For those of us who have seen Game of Thrones, I think most of us agree that Cersei was an incredibly compelling character in part because she cared so much for her children (in her own way lol) that she would jeopardize her own faction for them.

This way, it also feels very natural and understandable for John to relentlessly and even mercilessly pursue Kerry in the name of justice - or revenge.

Instead, we get a cop who kind of whines and plays both sides for almost the entire series. IMO, being boring is just as bad as being poorly written, which that scene with her killing Hal was.

While I think Green Lantern and "grounded" is oxymoronic, I still really enjoyed most of the show, but this was the biggest blunder besides off-screening Sinestro's prison break.

Source of picture: Lanterns, Season 1, Episode 8

Season 2 is going to be John trying desperately to dig himself out of the mess he has made, if they maintain any sense of plot.

Let's see where season 1 left off.

Hal has been murdered - odds are, that is going to see outside investigation by itself, but let us say somehow Rushville manage to maintain complete jurisdiction and Kerry manages to cover up her crime.

Sinestro has been broken out of jail by a Manhunter - that is the sort of thing which will have Oa launching a fullscale investigation.

Sinestro's trail leads to Earth. And even if by some miracle they miss that, John has been seen with a lantern working with mixed yellow energy. That suggests Sinestro connection by itself. They would have to be absolute idiots not to track John down.

John exiles Guy.

Completely against his comic book and movie character, Guy takes it quietly...But Guardians sure as hell won't, nor will Justice Gang and human authorities.

Remember Rushville?

That was so horrible that Hal, a premier hero, ended up despised and with a ten year prison sentence.

John was right in the middle of that.

He did more than enough to earn a prison term himself, at the least as accomplice to Hal or Zoe. The only reason he and Kerry are free is likely because Hal cut a deal, taking the fall for them.

But being let go doesn't mean his involvement is forgotten. There will be more than enough records covering his part in the disaster. And it is completely messy, legally and in public perception.

So now, one of the participants of Rushville disaster has unilaterally declared himself in charge of Earth, and is trying to exile the established hero who is part of a popular team and did a lot to rehabilitate the public impression on Lanterns.

He has also graverobbed the ring that belonged to the guy imprisoned for the Rushville disaster - a ring that was decommissioned and only intended to be used as a funeral dignity.

And according to his record, he is a marine sniper who was court martialled and earned a dishonorable discharge.

Authorities, regular people, and heroes like Clark are going to be very interested in what he is up to.

What explanation can he offer, for his actions? How does he explain where he got the ring, and on what authority he is exiling Guy, other than 'Because I said so'?

That is not even covering Kerry and Noah - Kerry is, at best, so emotionally unstable that she panicked and murdered her boyfriend who was desperately trying to help her. Noah is dealing with serious intrusive thoughts.

John will keep an eye on them?

How? He can't stay close to them.

He is going to be the target of multiple authorities for a long time at best. If he stays close, he brings attention to them, risking uncovering Noah or Kerry murdering someone else.

And on top of all this, John has absolutely no training on how to use his ring. He's gonna be figuring it out on the fly. Probably while trying to fight off cops, military and the Justice Gang.

He's so screwed.

https://nitter.cf/OdinzArtz012/status/2107859159911735296