James Gunn Finally Addresses The Big Hal Jordan Twist In ‘Lanterns’

September 23, 2026

James Gunn has addressed one of the biggest talking points surrounding ‘Lanterns’: the decision to reveal Hal Jordan’s death at the very beginning of the series. For viewers who waited years to see the Green Lantern finally return to live action, killing off Kyle Chandler’s version of Hal before the mystery even unfolded understandably raised a few eyebrows.

Now, Gunn’s response suggests the twist was never about getting rid of Hal Jordan. Instead, his death is being used as the engine driving the entire mystery.

Hal Jordan’s Death Is the Mystery, Not the Ending

After the sixth episode, ‘Lanterns’ still has not completely explained who killed Hal or what exactly happened to him. Gunn pushed back against the idea that the character was simply killed off immediately, pointing out how much screen time Chandler has already received.

“Hal’s the star of TV series & he’s in all the episodes so far,” Gunn explained. “It’s more live action screen time than all the live action screen time he’s had combined throughout history. Kyle is amazing in the role. We more than respect him. We love him, despite his imperfections.”

That is an important distinction. ‘Lanterns’ isn’t treating Hal’s death like a quick shock moment before moving on. His fate is the central question that pulls John Stewart and the audience deeper into the story. And with the series deliberately jumping between different points in Hal’s life, there is still plenty of room for the character to appear.

Kyle Chandler Isn’t Necessarily Done As Hal

Even though Hal is dead in the show’s present-day timeline, ‘Lanterns’ has already found a clever way to keep Chandler around through the character’s holographic appearance, humorously dubbed the “HALogram.”

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Future seasons could also explore Hal’s earlier years through flashbacks if the series gets renewed. That would allow the DCU to expand his history without undoing the consequences of his death. Chandler himself seems to have embraced the unusual storytelling choice.

Speaking about the opening reveal, he said he “cheered” when he learned how the first episode would end. “Hal’s death opens up the whole mystery of the show. The whole search is to find out what happened to him. I like the fact that the show is non-linear and they’ve layered it like that.”

He compared working on the nonlinear story to “playing three-dimensional chess.” explaining that the structure allowed the cast and creators to reveal information in unexpected ways. So while Hal Jordan’s fate may frustrate some viewers, ‘Lanterns’ is clearly treating it as a beginning rather than a goodbye.

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