• HBO has released a fresh trailer for Lanterns
• The new teaser is more vibrant and action-packed than its forebear
• DC Studios' latest TV show will premiere in mid-August

HBO has unveiled a new trailer for Lanterns — and it seems DC Studios has taken onboard the concerns that fans expressed following its inaugural teaser.

After the release of Lanterns' first trailer, some viewers reacted negatively to its sterile color palette, confusion over its story, and other hype-killing qualities. The HBO Max TV Original's latest round of footage, then, appears to be a direct response to those criticisms, with its bright and comic book-style visuals, narrative thrust, and thrilling action-heavy sequences aiming to restore fans' faith in the forthcoming DC Universe (DCU) project.

Lanterns' latest teaser comes just over two weeks after HBO confirmed the next DCU TV show would launch on August 16/17. Days before its premiere date was announced, an ominous new poster and tagline for Lanterns also teased a potentially dark fate for one of its main characters — a theory that this Green Lantern production's latest teaser doesn't exactly pore cold water on.

We won't find out if that fan theory was correct until the Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler-led HBO Max TV series is out in full. Nonetheless, there are things we already know about the DC comic book show's plot, including some intriguing fresh details about how its story will pan out.

What do we know so far about Lanterns' story?

For starters, here's the DCU Chapter One project's official logline: "Lanterns follows new recruit John Stewart (Pierre) and Lantern legend Hal Jordan (Chandler), two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland."

Not much to go on there. However, thanks to a recent interview that co-showrunner Chris Mundy conducted with Entertainment Weekly (EW), we've also learned that, among other things, Lanterns will span two timelines that dovetail and intersect through its eight-episode run.

The first, which is set in 2016, will revolve around a shooting in the town of Rushville, Nebraska. Meanwhile, the other takes places in 2026, aka the DCU's present, and sees Jordan continue to mentor Stewart as they attempt to solve the crime outlined in the story synopsis, which may — or may not — tie back to events a decade earlier. As Mundy teases: "Eventually, two different mysteries get worked out over the course of the show."

As for other plot-based information, Mundy has previously described Lanterns as being "as much of a buddy cop show as a superhero show", and goes into more detail in the aforementioned EW article, which includes mild spoilers surrounding its possible villain and other character appearances.

I won't discuss those here in case you don't want anything ruined ahead of time. If you're not bothered about spoilers and/or curious about learning more about the series, though, my guide on everything we know so far about Lanterns should be your next port of call.

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As TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot.