James Gunn and HBO Max recently released the long-awaited Lanterns teaser trailer. And… The fans have a lot of thoughts about it. Even making some start to praise 2011’s Green Lantern film, which is notoriously hated.

While many people have their own unique opinion of James Gunn’s DCU, it’s safe to say that everyone was looking forward to what could finally be a good adaptation of the beloved Green Lanterns. Especially after Guy Gardner in Superman, with comic accuracy and larger-than-life powers.

So why did this teaser disappoint so many people? Well, there are a lot of reasons, and I’m going to delve into each one and explain why the fans are enraged over them.

The Suit

To start this off, everyone has problems with the suit that was shown. For two big reasons specifically, and they truly are valid and reasonable ones.

Why is the suit not green? This brings up another complaint many fans have over the teaser simply not having the colour green in it, despite the IP being Green Lantern. Some do say that the reason behind this could be due to Hal’s (Kyle Chandler) draining willpower and loss of optimism throughout his life. But that just brings us around to the other problem fans have.

Why is it physical? In the comics, and even in any other known adaptation, the Green Lantern suit is a construct in itself. By that, I mean that it is created from the ring; it’s not made from anything other than energy. So, why are we seeing it hanging up on a coat hanger with multiple others?

The Aliens

Green Lantern has a lot of characters in its roster, most of them being lovable and well-known aliens. These are great characters that would be a waste to not include, but… It seems like they aren’t.

When John asks Hal if he’s talked to other Green Lanterns, Hal responds that he’s the ‘only human’, insinuating that, no, he hasn’t. This is hard to believe, with the Corps itself being almost all aliens, and with the fact that the ring automatically translates any language in the universe. Meaning communication can happen incredibly easily.

The Small Town Mystery

Why would an IP usually known for its space adventures turn to a small-town murder mystery? People are complaining that this is more like True Detective than a comic book show, and it’s hard to rebuke them.
From what we know, Hal and John will be helping solve a big crime in this small, western-looking town. They will even be working with the local police, it seems.

We also know that this will be a more grounded approach to Green Lantern, but there’s a difference between grounded and removing the source of what a Green Lantern story truly is.

Hal Jordan

Kyle Chandler may be a fantastic actor, but fans agree that what we see in the teaser is NOT Hal Jordan. Yes, this is a darker approach to the concept, but that is no excuse for what we seem to be seeing with Hal.

Hal is meant to be taking on the role of a grizzled, tired mentor to the younger John Stewart, which brings up the first problem. Hal does not fit that archetype, at least in most iterations.

As the most classic Green Lantern, Hal is well-known for his humorous and light personality. While he can get dark at times, he tries his best to stay positive, quipping jokes and caring deeply for his friends, teammates, and fellow Corps members.

Kyle Chandler’s Hal doesn’t seem to be showing any of this, and as such, fans have lost most of their hope for this series.

The Constructs

The main power of a Green Lantern isn’t just flight (as we see in the teaser), but instead it’s light constructs made purely out of willpower. Even in the Golden Age, this is what Green Lantern could do: create things from nothing.

We don’t see anything like this. In fact, we don’t see any powers being used really, other than a small clip of Hal flying. Not including a single construct in the first teaser is extremely disappointing and is definitely bringing hopes down.

John Proving Himself

Introducing John Stewart straight away was a genius move by James Gunn, but it seems like it’s going to turn bad no matter what.

In the teaser, we learn that John has to prove himself to be a Green Lantern, which makes absolutely no sense. Green Lanterns are chosen by the ring itself, not by anyone else. (Unless you count some very rare occasions.)

Whenever a Green Lantern dies, their ring moves on to find another person with extreme willpower to become the next one. So, why does John have to prove that he’s worthy of a ring?

I’m not even mentioning how Guy Gardner, of all characters, has become the best live-action Green Lantern representation. It’s also confusing when Hal says he’s the only human, despite us having seen Guy in two projects at this point, Superman, and in small parts of Peacemaker S2.

In short, this teaser has fans rioting online, some even declaring that the Green Lantern IP is possibly cursed to never have a good movie or series. We can only hope another teaser is released soon enough to either prove the fans wrong or, sadly, prove them right.

Keep yourself updated on HBO Max’s ‘Lanterns’ and read all about it here. Lanterns is set to release at some point in August. Make sure to keep an eye out for it.