I Really Hope Sinestro’s Backstory Actually Gets Told in the DCU, But Lanterns Has Me Worried

Sinestro is officially appearing in Lanterns, and while this is really exciting, I’m worried about how the DCU show is going to handle him. Lanterns has a lot of talent behind it, and based on the franchise’s track record of HBO Max shows, it has a high chance of being great. However, it is an odd choice to make a Green Lantern show that is inspired by True Detective and Westerns, with these choices giving me some concerns about how the series will handle the source material.

The newest trailer for Lanterns was released at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, giving us our best look at the upcoming project yet. It shows that Hal Jordan and John Stewart will be dealing with a murder mystery involving the shape-shifting alien Manhunters, deemed to be the most dangerous killers in the galaxy. Meanwhile, Hal is training John to be his replacement as a Lantern, something that he confides in an odd place: Sinestro.

Sinestro’s Backstory May Not Be Shown In Lanterns (& That’s A Bad Thing)

The SDCC 2026 Lanterns trailer finally gives us our first look at the most iconic Green Lantern villain, with Ulrich Thomsen’s Sinestro appearing in a brief section of the trailer. Lanterns‘ Sinestro looks like he was ripped straight from the comics, with his iconic design, including his dark pink design, being on full display. Even just in this small moment, it is already clear that Thomsen will do a fantastic job portraying the character, bringing the gravitas that the villain needs to come to life.

However great the villain’s performance may be, this trailer does imply a problem with Sinestro’s story. In the trailer, Hal goes to a super prison to visit Sinestro, where he talks with the villain about his replacement, John Stewart. If this is early in the show, then Sinestro already being in prison implies that most of his history with Hal has been brushed over. We likely won’t see him playing a major role as an antagonist, and we most definitely won’t see his backstory from the comics in Lanterns.

This is a shame, as Sinestro’s backstory is what makes him such an interesting villain. In the comics, an alien Green Lantern crash-lands next to Sinestro, choosing him as his successor. However, when it turns out that the alien is still alive, Sinestro chooses to let him die, having become addicted to the power of the ring. Later, Sinestro is assigned to be Hal Jordan’s mentor when the human joins the Green Lantern Corps, although their methods don’t align. It is revealed that Sinestro has used his ring to become the dictator of his home planet, and when Hal tells the Guardians about this, they banish Sinestro to another dimension. There, he makes a Yellow Lantern ring and returns to the main universe, declaring himself the sworn enemy of Hal and the Green Lanterns.

Sinestro’s training of Hal and corruption by the Green Lantern ring is what makes him such a compelling villain, and without that, it’ll be hard for the DCU to convince fans why he is a worthwhile villain. Since Lanterns is starting with an aged Hal, it is obvious that the show probably won’t feature Sinestro training a young Hal. Having Sinestro’s training of Hal juxtaposed with Hal’s training of John would be a fantastic dynamic to introduce into the show, with this being the best way to go about including the iconic villain and the more grounded Lanterns story.

Lanterns Shouldn’t Ignore Sinestro Just Because It Has A Grounded & Gritty Tone

Sinestro is one of DC Comics’ grandest villains, but he is also undoubtedly campy. His over-the-top villainy, pink skin, and comically evil mustache have caused many fans to treat him as a goofy character. However, if the writers of Lanterns feel this way about him, it may have caused them to minimize his role in the show. After all, the trailers for Lanterns prove that the show will have a grounded and gritty tone, meaning that they may mostly exclude the villain in order to maintain this.

However, the tone of Lanterns can still be achieved while fully embracing Sinestro. All the show has to do is treat Sinestro as if he is serious, and audience suspension of disbelief will do the rest. If Lanterns constantly makes jokes about how goofy Sinestro is, then audiences obviously won’t take him seriously, as the show is telling them not to. The fact that Sinestro is in prison immediately implies that his role in Lanterns will be memorized, which is a shame, as visually and performance-wise this Sinestro already looks like the perfect adaptation.

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