‘Lanterns’ Episode 3 Stills Just Dropped, and They Might Reveal a Major Twist to John Stewart’s Origin

HBO’s newest DC Universe entry has spent its first two weeks proving that a superhero show can work just as well as a slow-burn crime drama, leaning into detective work over spectacle. That patience has paid off creatively, but it’s also left fans hungry for the moments when the show finally reveals its bigger mythological cards.

This week’s new promotional stills suggest that reveal might be coming sooner than expected, hinting at a backstory twist that could reshape how fans understand one of its two leads entirely.

New stills from ‘Lanterns‘ Episode 3 have been released, featuring Aaron Pierre, Kyle Chandler, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Kelly Macdonald, Jason Ritter, Garrett Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, and Laura Linney, with the episode set to release this Sunday on HBO and HBO Max. The new images notably mark the debut of Linney’s character as one of the Guardians of the Universe, shown handing what appears to be a large diamond to John Stewart’s mother.

That scene has fueled speculation that the Guardians may have struck some kind of deal with John’s parents when he was just a baby, potentially molding him into a future Green Lantern long before he ever received a ring. The theory gains extra weight given how the show has already hinted that Stewart possesses unusual abilities, including a moment in the series where he held a construct without a ring, a feat that visibly stunned Kyle Chandler’s veteran Lantern, Hal Jordan.

The series follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan as they investigate a murder in the American heartland, an earth-based mystery that has doubled as a showcase for both actors’ performances. Showrunner Chris Mundy addressed the show’s deliberately restrained use of ring constructs in an interview with IGN, explaining that the approach was intentional from the start.

Mundy said the show wanted to “earn” its bigger moments by starting small, gradually building trust with the audience so that each use of the ring’s power would feel meaningful rather than overused. He noted that the writers were essentially talking to themselves through Hal’s own philosophy in the pilot, that knowing when and where to use the ring is “the whole ballgame.”

That patient storytelling has extended to the show’s mythology as well, with the series slowly revealing connections to the broader DC Universe rather than front-loading exposition. Laura Linney’s Guardian is expected to potentially shift into her alien form during the Episode 3 scene, likely as a way of proving her identity and intentions to John’s mother.

Created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, with Mundy serving as showrunner, ‘Lanterns’ has built its eight-episode first season around this careful balance of grounded crime drama and slowly unfurling superhero mythology. With John’s origin potentially getting a significant reframe this weekend, fans are bracing for a episode that could recontextualize everything they thought they understood about the newest Green Lantern’s path to the Corps.

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