‘Lanterns’ Stars Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre Talk the Pilot Shocker, Early Fears and Season 2 Chances

[This story contains major spoilers for Lanterns’ “Pilot.”]

The flash-forward that closes the Lanterns series premiere was bound to strike a familiar chord with Kyle Chandler completists. It’s reminiscent of another recent high-profile series in which one of his characters meets a prematurely shocking end. Chandler himself may have momentarily wondered whether he was being offered another Mayor of Kingstown-type opportunity. But showrunner Chris Mundy, together with co-creators Damon Lindelof and Tom King, quickly reassured him that this particular twist would more closely resemble the storytelling of Bloodline, the earlier series Mundy and Chandler had worked on together.

The pilot — directed by James Hawes and co-written by Mundy, Lindelof, and King — establishes the DC/HBO series’ multi-timeline structure. It introduces childhood flashbacks, a primary timeline set in 2016 and a future 2026 timeline, one where Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart and Rushville, Nebraska sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) investigate the murder of Chandler’s Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, on the same high-school football field where the three of them had worked another murder case a decade earlier. Like Bloodline’s own inciting murder, this series will gradually catch the audience up to speed as to how the ring-powered space cop wound up catching a bullet.

For Chandler, the bigger challenge was block-shooting a nonlinear series without having all the scripts available at first. If you’re unfamiliar with shooting in blocks, it’s basically when a production films multiple episodes at the same time in order to shoot out a location.

“The full storyline wasn’t in front of us; it was described to us. [Block-shooting] required a lot of faith and trust in the storyline,” Chandler tells The Hollywood Reporter. “As far as the way they started it out [with Hal’s death], I thought it was a clever way of doing it and making it a non-linear story. I like the way it came out. It gave us a chance to set up our own traps and to go against the material sometimes to reveal more, or less, later. So it’s like 3D chess.”

Pierre, who’s already reprised the role of his aspiring Green Lantern in DCU architect James Gunn’s upcoming Man of Tomorrow, advanced through 2024’s audition process as his performance in Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge was earning rave reviews. Yet unlike his fearless Green Lantern trainee, he still felt considerable apprehension just as his career was taking flight.

“I immediately recognized the enormity of the opportunity and the gift that it is to engage with, first and foremost, this character and this world. And being the first live-action [John Stewart] is also something that I recognize the magnitude of,” Pierre says. “So it was very nerve-wracking, but I have a history and a habit of intentionally seeking out things that unnerve me.”

Having never worked in the comic-book genre before, Chandler was surprised to find himself cast as a superhero at 60. So he soon became aware of the pressure to satisfy an already passionate fanbase with sky-high expectations.

“Before I went to [San Diego] Comic-Con, a lot of people were saying, ‘Well, what are the true aficionados going to think of your presentation? You better do a good job.’ Luckily, I don’t pay attention to any of that. I don’t go on any of these web sites and read any of that stuff, so they can call me what they want and I won’t know,” Chandler shares. “But there was a little [concern of], How am I going to do this to please people? Then I finally realized, I can’t please anyone, so I have to do it myself. That gave me the freedom to be myself, and that gave me the freedom to make it as raw as I wanted it to be. Damn the torpedoes, let’s see what happens.”

It’s a particularly strange time for the superhero industrial complex’s endeavors on TV and streaming platforms. One day, an acclaimed, Emmy-nominated series can be renewed, and the next day, it can be inexplicably un-renewed. At this current juncture, Mundy and Halt and Catch Fire co-creator Christopher Cantwell are provisionally breaking story in the season two writers room, but neither Chandler nor Pierre are getting ahead of themselves until they officially get the green light from the studio/network.

“Whatever happens will happen. Whatever is meant to be will be,” Pierre says. “Of course, we would love to go again and again. We love this show. All of us poured so much into this that, whatever happens, we are at peace with it because we are just all so very proud of it.”

Below, during a conversation with THR, Pierre also discusses how he balanced the contrast between John’s calm external presentation and his inner turmoil from childhood. 

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Aaron and Kyle, Kyle and Aaron …

AARON PIERRE You were right the first time. 

(Pierre and Kyle Chandler laugh. They’d already been ribbing each other prior to the start of this interview.)

KYLE CHANDLER (Joking about Pierre’s physical advantage over him.) This guy is actually sitting on two phonebooks right now. That’s how little he is. He’s nervous for this interview. 

PIERRE (Laughing and pointing to his upper body.) I’ve also got padding in here. 

Kyle, I’ve been watching you since the days when a cat delivered your newspaper a day early on Early Edition, and that ordinary guy with a head start on tomorrow’s news was probably the closest you’ve come to playing a superhero. But is it safe to say that you never expected a bona fide superhero like Hal Jordan to come your way?

CHANDLER It’s very safe to assume that, yeah. It’s safe to assume that I didn’t expect a script to come — and the likes of James Gunn and these guys [co-creators Chris Mundy, Tom King, Damon Lindelof] to ask if I wanted to be the Green Lantern. I was like, “Oh, I’m interested to read this.” And when I got done reading it, I realized, It is the Green Lantern, but it’s so much more. The script was so rich with opportunities to do so much more, and I saw that immediately.

The writers based Hal on Chuck Yeager, including Sam Shepard’s Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff. Sam happened to play your father on Bloodline, so did that aspect tip the scales for you at all?

CHANDLER That wasn’t a consideration. The one thing that was a consideration was that I only now understand the intensity of these comic book universes: DC, Marvel and all the others. I went to my first Comic-Con recently, and I realize it now. Before I went to [San Diego] Comic-Con, a lot of people were saying, “Well, what are the true aficionados going to think of your presentation? You better do a good job.” Luckily, I don’t pay attention to any of that. I don’t have any social media. I don’t go on any of these web sites and read any of that stuff, so they can call me what they want and I won’t know. But there was a little [concern of], How am I going to do this to please people? Then I finally realized, I can’t please anyone, so I have to do it myself. That gave me the freedom to be myself, and that gave me the freedom to make it as raw as I wanted it to be. Damn the torpedoes, let’s see what happens. So it was a really enjoyable process.

Aaron, Lanterns have to be fearless in order to get the job, but actors tell me all the time that the roles they want most are the ones that scare them. So what frightened you the most about this particular part? 

PIERRE The enormity of it. I immediately recognized the enormity of the opportunity and the gift that it is to engage with, first and foremost, this character and this world. And being the first live-action [John Stewart] is also something that I recognize the magnitude of. So it was very nerve-wracking going into the audition process and the final callback, et cetera. But I have a history and a habit of intentionally seeking out things that unnerve me, especially as it relates to my career. I just got done doing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on the main stage at the Old Vic in London, and that terrified me. [Writer’s Note: Pierre played McMurphy.]

CHANDLER (Laughs.) When you told me that, I was like, “Are you crazy?” 

PIERRE (Laughs.) You were terrified on my behalf. That’s the same stage that heroes of mine have been on — James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave. So I just have a tendency to go toward that because that’s where evolution and growth are. So Kyle and I share that sentiment with a lot of the work that we choose to do.

I never thought applesauce could be a source of trauma, but here we are. 

PIERRE (Laughs.) 

I’m honestly amazed by John’s composure considering his uniquely abusive childhood. How did you approach the psychology of someone who’s so composed despite going through all of that?

PIERRE Oh brother, I love that question. That is such a great question. I really worked extensively on that particular element of John’s character. The question I would ask myself is: How do you make an interesting portrayal of somebody who is seemingly as cool as an ocean breeze, but internally, there is a tornado going on? And that’s something that I wrestled with throughout the process. I actually think the process of wrestling with it leaked into the character, and it’s what we get to see on the screen. It was so enjoyable. I love the opportunity and the gift to portray complex characters, as all of us are. When we have a lot of things going on, how do we manage and navigate that? So it was a joy and a privilege to portray John.

Kyle, at the end of the pilot, I was briefly worried that you’d been Mayor of Kingstown’d again, but then I realized you’d actually been Danny Rayburn’d (Bloodline). The established multi-timeline will explore how Hal ended up on those bleachers in 2026. When you first learned of Hal’s death at the end of the series premiere, how did that first conversation go considering you recently died in another pilot?

CHANDLER I asked the same question when I read the script. We block-shot this [season], and the scripts didn’t all come out until we had already started shooting. So the full storyline wasn’t in front of us; it was described to us. That made it difficult to block-shoot eight episodes of which you don’t have all eight episodes [in script form]. It required a lot of faith and trust in the storyline. As far as the way they started it out, I thought it was a clever way of doing it and making it a non-linear story. The way they stacked the cards at the end, it gave the editors a heyday to create new storylines or break storylines down or what have you. So, creatively, I think it was, for them, a joy. And yeah, I like the way it came out. It gave us a chance to set up our own traps and to go against the material sometimes to reveal more, or less, later. So it’s like 3D chess.

[Writer’s Note: I also asked Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy about whether Kyle voiced any initial concern until he heard the grand plan.]

CHRIS MUNDY Kyle never mentioned [Mayor of Kingstown] or any concern. It was baked into what we were doing from the beginning, and it was just always part of what we were going to be doing. And Kyle knew. There’s a real freedom in that because we were all on the same page.

The writing of season two is already underway in the event of renewal. Are you guys feeling optimistic? 

CHANDLER I am very optimistic. I gave them my first two versions of scripts one and two, along with a packet of cash.

PIERRE (Laughs.) Honestly, this was such a joy from beginning to end. Kyle and I speak often about the fact that maybe 15 percent of this season, maybe even less, was shot on the WB lot. The other 85 or 90 percent of it was shot on location, so we became a real traveling company. We became such a unit and such a team. Whatever happens will happen. Whatever is meant to be will be. Of course, we would love to go again and again. We love this show. All of us poured so much into this that, whatever happens, we are at peace with it because we are just all so very proud of it. The whole team, such as Jeff [Ferrero] in lighting, got so close. It’s a real family, and it was a real family effort. Kyle and I, along with a number of other amazing artists, are front-facing in regards to this project. But there is a town behind us, and we wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without them, not even close.

CHANDLER What he says is so true.

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Lanterns is now airing new episodes on HBO/HBO Max every Sunday until Oct 4.