Lanterns has arrived with a strong early Rotten Tomatoes showing, giving DC Studios its first major critical win of 2026 and a timely boost for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s still-young rebooted DC Universe.
The HBO series, built around the Green Lantern mythology and centered on Hal Jordan and John Stewart, is landing in broadly positive territory with its first wave of reviews. While the score will continue to shift as more critics weigh in, the initial response positions Lanterns as one of the more encouraging chapters yet in the new DCU rollout — and a badly needed sign that the franchise’s momentum did not end with last year’s Superman.
That matters because DC’s current screen universe is still in the credibility-building phase. After years of uneven franchise planning, abrupt tonal swings and public course corrections, DC Studios has been working to convince audiences, exhibitors, talent and Wall Street that its new interconnected slate can function as more than a one-film comeback story. A well-reviewed Lanterns does not solve every challenge, but it gives the studio a valuable proof point: the DCU can extend beyond its flagship caped icon and still hold critical attention.
The rebooted canon began in animation with Creature Commandos in 2024, but the larger public test came in 2025, when Superman relaunched DC on the big screen. The film drew strong reviews and grossed $618.7 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing comic book movie of that year and validating, at least initially, Gunn and Safran’s decision to reset the brand around a more unified creative vision. On television, Peacemaker Season 2 also performed well with critics, even as its finale divided parts of the fanbase.
Lanterns now broadens the canvas. Rather than leaning into the cosmic spectacle that defined previous Green Lantern adaptations, the series has been framed as a grounded mystery with science-fiction scale, following veteran Lantern Hal Jordan and newer recruit John Stewart as they investigate a case with implications for Earth and the wider DC mythology. That approach gives the show a different texture from the superhero TV that dominated the 2010s, when networks and streamers often favored weekly villain formats, sprawling ensemble crossovers and budget-conscious visual effects.
The early reviews suggest that choice is paying off. Critics have highlighted the show’s detective-story structure, its more mature tone and the central dynamic between its two leads as key strengths. For DC, that reception is particularly meaningful because Green Lantern has long been one of the company’s most valuable but most difficult properties to adapt. The 2011 feature film starring Ryan Reynolds remains a cautionary tale in modern superhero filmmaking, remembered less as a franchise starter than as a costly misfire that helped stall the character’s live-action prospects for more than a decade.
A key test for the DCU’s small-screen strategy
The success of Lanterns is also significant because Gunn and Safran’s DCU was designed to move across film, television, animation and games with a single continuity. That plan is ambitious, but it comes with risk. Marvel Studios proved the commercial upside of serialized universe-building, then also demonstrated how quickly audience fatigue can set in when too many interconnected projects appear essential. DC’s challenge is to create cohesion without making each new entry feel like homework.
In that sense, Lanterns may be arriving at exactly the right moment. It offers a recognizable brand without relying on Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman, and it gives DC a chance to deepen its universe through genre rather than cameo overload. If viewers respond to it as both a self-contained thriller and a doorway into larger mythology, the series could become a model for how DC uses television going forward.
The industry is watching closely. Streaming services have become more selective about expensive genre programming, and superhero television is no longer an automatic renewal engine. Prestige packaging, strong reviews and audience completion rates now matter as much as brand awareness. For HBO, a strong critical launch helps justify the cost of a visually demanding comic book series. For Warner Bros. Discovery, it supports the argument that DC remains a central franchise pillar at a time when every major studio is under pressure to manage intellectual property more strategically.
There is also a broader theatrical implication. Even though Lanterns is a television project, its reception can influence confidence in the DCU’s film slate. Shared universes live and die on perception. When one project hits, the next one benefits from the goodwill; when one underwhelms, doubt spreads quickly. A strong early score for Lanterns gives DC positive conversation heading into the next phase of releases and helps counter the lingering skepticism that has followed the brand since the end of the previous DC film regime.
Of course, Rotten Tomatoes is only one measure. A high early score can generate headlines, but lasting success will depend on viewership, week-to-week retention and whether general audiences embrace the show beyond the core comic book fanbase. DC Studios will also need to maintain consistency as more projects arrive. One well-reviewed series is encouraging; a durable franchise requires repeated execution across different characters, tones and formats.
What Happens Next
The immediate question is whether Lanterns can convert its early critical enthusiasm into sustained audience momentum. If the series holds its score as more reviews are added and performs strongly on HBO’s platform, it could become one of the DCU’s most important building blocks rather than a side chapter.
DC Studios will then have a stronger foundation as it continues expanding the rebooted universe. The next challenge is consistency: proving that the goodwill earned by Superman, Peacemaker and now Lanterns can carry across the full slate. For a franchise still asking audiences to trust its new direction, this is exactly the kind of early win it needed.