“Lanterns” To Be ‘More Fun’ Than Expected

British filmmaker James Hawes is out promoting the just released Rami Malek-led film “The Amateur” which he directed, a rare film from Hawes who is mostly known for his acclaimed TV work.

The “Slow Horses” and “Black Mirror” helmer most recently directed “Lanterns,” HBO’s upcoming grounded take on the DC Comics “Green Lantern” property.

The series is set primarily on Earth and sees new recruit John Stewart teamed with Lantern legend Hal Jordan as the two intergalactic cops are drawn into a dark mystery involving a murder in the American heartland.

Many comparisons have been made with “True Detective,” to the point that people suspect this will be a deadly serious and gritty investigative drama. That’s not entirely the case says Hawes who tells THR that though somewhat fitting, it’s decidedly more fun than that show:

“Talking tone, it looks and feels rooted. You meet two guys, but there is wit and comedy to it that you would not expect in True Detective. It is, in many ways, a buddy cop structure with travel in the story time, to and fro, that is really sophisticated.

Chris Mundy [showrunner] has done the most amazing job with the team there, and so I think [the True Detective comparison] is valid. People will still go, ‘What were you talking about?’ to some extent, but I would also bring in No Country for Old Men, Fargo and things that have that Americana heart to them. There’s a wry humor, and so there definitely is more wit and humor than there is in True Detective.”

He also has nothing but praise for actor Aaron Pierre who takes on the key role of newly recruited Lantern John Stewart:

“I honestly think he did it totally individually in the room. With some chemistry castings and the like, it just felt like he would inhabit the role. He has such a magnificent presence. He feels so forceful, so cool, so understated. Again, I wanted this world to be rooted, and while there’s only so far you can go with rooting characters in a show about Green Lantern, they are. This is a world where we accept that the Green Lanterns exist and aliens exist. So the rest of it is played straight and in the world as we know it.”

Kyle Chandler, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Nicole Ari Parker, Jason Ritter, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Jasmine Cephas Jones and Nathan Fillion co-star in the series which sees Chris Mundy serving as showrunner and executive producer while Damon Lindelof and comic book scribe Tom King write.

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