Damon Lindelof Breaks Silence on HBO’s ‘Lanterns’ Controversy: “I Was Sloppy and Careless”

Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Damon Lindelof wrote a heartfelt open letter on Instagram to the Green Lantern fandom community in the wake of a comment he made on a podcast getting some backlash. Our story yesterday gave the detailed version of the (kind of silly) controversy surrounding the Emmy winner’s upcoming HBO series Lanterns , which takes a grounded approach to adapting the Green Lantern Corps comics into a prestige TV show. But basically: Lindelof was on a podcast a year ago where he explained why the show wasn’t called Green Lantern , and joked, “It’s called Lanterns , because we all agreed that the ‘Green’ was stupid, so now it’s just Lanterns .” Then the show’s teaser trailer was released which contained a downright scandalous lack of green in its color palette. In fact, it’s rather sordidly beige. Lindelof’s comment was recirculated with some fans growing suspicious that the show wouldn’t be faithful to its source material. Related Stories TV 'Born to Bowl' Filmmakers on Landing Liev Schreiber, and How Many "Balls" Jokes Is the Right Number of Balls Jokes TV 'The Last of Us' Adds Jason Ritter, Patrick Wilson to Season 3 Cast Then, on Sunday, acclaimed Green Lantern comic book writer Grant Morrison weighed in, writing on Substack: “TV writer/producer Damon Lindelof’s comments notwithstanding, the ‘Green’ in ‘Green Lantern ’ is not ‘stupid.’ Why does a writer attach himself to this kind of narrative if he thinks it’s fundamentally ‘stupid’? … What is this jockish dismissal of superhero conventions intended to prove anyway? … The only people who give a fuck about the Lanterns TV series are Green Lantern fans. Why alienate them at the start? That feels more like ‘stupid.'” At this point, Lindelof — who, again, has plenty of experience with receiving online love...