As someone who’s been Green Lantern fan for roughly 15 years at this point, I’ve been waiting for this DC Comics property to get another shot at live-action adaptation following the disappointment that was Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern movie. That will finally happen when Lanterns, which takes place in the DC Universe franchise, premieres on HBO in early 2026. Fear the Walking Dead’s Garret Dillahunt is one of the actors appearing in the upcoming DC TV show, and with him now seemingly revealing that two major Green Lantern villains will appear, I’m more excited for Lanterns than ever.
Now I realize I should temper that excitement a bit, as this latest Lanterns update is ambiguous at best. Nevertheless, on his Instagram Stories, Dillahunt first linked out to a fan post showing pictures of Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre and Nathan Fillion above artwork of their respective Green Lantern characters, i.e. Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Guy Gardner. Then Dillahunt linked out to a second post from that same account showing himself and fellow costars Ulrich Thomsen and Paul Ben-Victor above some familiar nefarious faces from the comics.
First we have Thomsen above Sinestro, a casting that has been confirmed. However, what’s puzzling is that Ben-Victor and Dillahunt are above Atrocitus and Black Hand, both of whom are among the more notorious members of the Green Lantern rogues gallery. For context, these two have previously been reported to be playing different characters.
Garret Dillahunt’s William Macon has been described as “a self-righteous, conspiracy-minded man who masks his ruthless ambition behind a charming and calculated facade,” and Paul Ben-Victor’s Antaan is said to be “an extraterrestrial devoted to exposing the truth and exacting vengeance against those who wronged his people.” However, fans have been suspecting that these two are actually meant to be Lanterns’ versions of Atrocitus and Black Hand, and Dillahunt accompanying that fan post with the thinking face emoji certainly adds fuel to the fire.
Again, we can’t say with 100% certainty yet if Dillahunt and Ben-Victor are respectively playing Black Hand and Atrocitus, although this isn’t the first time that Dillahunt has indicated there’s more to his character than just being an antagonistic modern cowboy. But if this is all indeed what’s happening, then this could mean more than just giving two great Green Lantern villains their due in live-action. This could also pave the way for the Red Lantern Corps and Black Lantern Corps to be featured, and it’s already been rumored that Yellow Lanterns will accompany Ulrich Thomsen’s Sinestro. Could we get a Blackest Night adaptation if Lanterns runs multiple seasons?
Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself. The prospect of seeing Black Hand and Atrocitus in Lanterns is exciting enough… for now. The DCU show’s other cast members include Kelly Macdonald, Poorna Jagannathan, Jason Ritter, Nicole Ari Parker, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Sherman Augustus and J. Alphonse Nicholson, among others. Chris Mundy serves as showrunner, and he developed Lanterns with Damon Lindelof and Tom King.
