There’s both a new Lord of the Rings movie and a new season of The Rings of Power on the way, but the ring I’m most excited to obsess over is the powered-up accessory at the heart (or finger) of HBO Max’s upcoming DC series Lanterns. The second live-action superhero series from James Gunn’s DCU, Lanterns is breaking open the Green Lantern mythos for a time-jumping murder-mystery, and the latest trailer revealed the high-level casting of Emmy-winning actress Laura Linney.
Linney’s presence adds excess excitement for a project that already sparked a ton of it — it’s also garnered blowback over the lack of green visuals, but at least this latest trailer fed into those desires. Still, for all the ring-based constructs on display, it’s Linney’s unidentified character that has my brain aflutter. I think the most popular avenue of speculation is the right one, but I don’t wholly understand why there’s speculation being had at all, nor why the character’s identity hasn’t been revealed already.
I Mostly Agree With Fans Thinking Laura Linney Is Playing Carol Ferris
I tend to hate jumping to a conclusion when it seems to be the only conclusion to jump toward, but this is a pretty applicable situation. Without a ton of eaamples to pull from in terms of female characters who share a similar age group with Hal Jordan, the most obvious name to pull when speculating about Linney's inclusion is Carol Ferris, who's severed as both Hal's romantic foil and his higher-up. If only she'd have an obviously pilot wings pin on her lapel, we could put this one to bed.
Though we haven't heard any direct mentions regarding Carol thus far within Lanterns promos, nor her superhero persona Star Sapphire, it's unlikely the new series would take place without her involvement in at least one of the timelines. Given she appears to be talking to Pierre's John Stewart about Hal, and in a way that makes it seem like she's had personal stakes, I'll be heartily surprised to learn that the Ozark vet is playing anyone else.
The Biggest Reason To Keep This A Mystery Is If Laura Linney Isn't Playing Carol
All things considered, there could be plenty of reasons why Lanterns' Powers That Be are holding back on revealing Linney's character, only for her to be playing Carol Ferris. It's keeping the conversation going with soapbox ravings and rantings like this one, for example. Not that I even have a suitable soapbox. (Hint hint, anyone with a Lantern ring.)
But there's that conspiracy theory-entertaining part of my brain that can fully buy into the trailer giving Laura Linney's character a simple first look only to reveal she's playing someone far different from Carol. But who? Probably not Wonder Woman, but wouldn't that be a hoot?
Perhaps the most favorable second assumption points toward Laura Linney portraying one of the Guardians of the Universe, who would also be quite aware of what Hal and John are up to, and could appear to them in human form to touch base. That would probably mean less of Linney in the show overall, so that's another reason why I'd just rather her play Carol. Which is no doubt what co-creators Chris Munro, Tom King and Damon Lindelof had top of mind, right?
Check out the Lanterns trailer below, with Linney's arrival coming in the final moments.
Lanterns will light up the 2026 TV schedule when Season 1 makes its streaming debut on August 16, 2026, via HBO Max subscription.
