Christopher Cantwell says Lanterns hasn’t been canceled

But in case you’re wondering where a potential new season of HBO Max’s Lanterns sits amid this new paradigm shift, you’re not alone. As online fears that Lanterns has been canceled at the streamer proliferate—triggered, in part, by a recent Variety piece that muddied the melodrama behind DC somewhat and, after an update to the article, stated what we already knew: That Lanterns has not been renewed for season two—one person in the know is piping up on social media to allay concerns. That’s Christopher Cantwell, creator and showrunner of AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, comic book writer, and head of the writers’ room for the unannounced season two of Lanterns, who took to Bluesky Tuesday evening to nip rumors that the show was done for in the bud. “Dear Internet,” Cantwell wrote. “I haven’t heard a fucking thing.” 

In his post, Cantwell went on to compare this Lanterns speculation to questions fans still have about Halt And Catch Fire, a show that has since enjoyed four seasons and 40 episodes, telling his followers, “People sometimes wonder what future seasons [would’ve] been. They [HACF‘s Joe MacMillan, Cameron Howe, Gordon Clark, and Donna Clark] would’ve arrived at social media and AI and the characters would’ve killed themselves.” Which is good to know, we suppose, but weren’t you just talking about Lanterns? “Nothing’s cancelled [sic],” Cantwell concluded. “Calm down.” Lanterns performed well for HBO Max, averaging 19 million international viewers per episode leading up to its finale. Yet, Variety wrote, the series didn’t “quite [capture] the zeitgeist.”

Whatever “capturing the zeitgeist” means in the context of the adult-oriented DC series—thousands of people sharing smoldering Aaron Pierre GIFs on X, off-brand Lanterns bottle openers sold at liquor stores, meat-eating Earl Jordan plushies—and whatever expectations Skydance had for the show as it closed its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery in early October (just after Lanterns had its season finale), it’s clear that the company has to stabilize DC Studios before it even begins thinking about Lanterns season three. So, y’know, keep those Ch’p/Kilowog team-up ideas stashed in your power batteries for now.