Lanterns finale almost gave John Stewart his Green Lantern suit, but there was a reason it didn’t happen

Lanterns Season 1 came to an end on October 4, 2026, with John Stewart becoming the Green Lantern as he was trained to be. John solved the mystery of Hal's death, made a crucial decision, and then decided to finally accept the ring.

While we do see John charge the ring with his own twist to the Green Lantern oath, the Lanterns finale did not show him in his own suit. Showrunner and writer Chris Mundy has now revealed why.

Chris Mundy on why Lanterns finale did not show John Stewart in his Green Lantern suit

The Lanterns finale gave us the most anticipated answers of the season. The episode revealed Noah to be a Manhunter, something he inherited from Zoe. While Noah initially told John he killed Hal to protect his mother, John had a feeling Noah was lying.

When John was talking to Kerry at Noah's game, Kerry came clean. She revealed that she shot Hal in the heat of the moment because he found out Noah was a Manhunter and wanted the three of them to move to an isolated planet. Before going off to play, Noah had asked John to kill him.

But John chose not to. The fact that Noah chose death to protect his mother was proof that he wasn't programmed like a Manhunter; he was driven by love. John took a big risk by not killing Noah, as the hologram of Hal's consciousness pointed out later. But John has taken full responsibility for his choice.

At the end of the finale and the series, we see John calling Guy Gardner and telling him that he will be the Green Lantern of Earth while Guy can take the stars. Guy is evidently unhappy, but John is stern in his choice. John then finally charges the ring with the lantern made by Sinestro and says the Lanterns' oath with a twist to it. While he does fly, we don't see him in the Green Lantern suit.

Lanterns has established the fact that John was raised to be a Green Lantern one day. Thus, many viewers expected to see John finally wearing the suit after accepting the ring and its responsibilities. But Lanterns did not give us John Stewart in his suit this season.

Talking to CBR, showrunner Chris Mundy was asked why John wasn't seen in his suit. In response, Mundy said:

"In the early days, we did designs on Aaron's suit at the same time that we did designs on Hal's, on Kyle's. In the end, it was really a story point. If the season would have continued on another day, you probably would have seen it. But emotionally in that moment, once Hal and John have their goodbye scene... the season had ended, emotionally."

Mundy continued:

"I know there's the montage, and I know he flies. But to get to a place where he then had the suit would have taken us out of the moment between those guys. Once we knew that was the ending point, then we were like, ‘The suit's not going to be in this season.’"

Thus, John Stewart did have a Green Lantern suit. Before talking to Guy or charging the ring, John spoke with the hologram of Hal's consciousness one last time. Hologram Hal told John that he believes John will be a better Green Lantern than him and that he's ready. Before fizzling out, Hologram Hal asked John what the real Hal's last words were since he couldn't hear what Kerry told him about Hal's last moments.

John didn't tell him the real Hal's actual last words. He pretended to answer Hologram Hal's question and instead said:

"I love you."

Hologram Hal could tell John just wanted to express his love without coming off cheesy, and responded by saying:

"And, I love you too Junior."

Thus, Lanterns ended on an emotional note with John finally understanding Hal and knowing that his mentor always believed in him irrespective of how opposite his words seemed. That is why the writers of the show did not show John in his suit this season.

While Lanterns hasn't been officially renewed for Season 2, fans are hoping the show continues. Hence, if Lanterns Season 2 does happen, we will see John in his Green Lantern suit. Moreover, John is supposed to appear in Man of Tomorrow (2027), and we might see him in his Green Lantern suit in the film.

Lanterns is streaming on HBO Max.

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