‘About to sweep the Emmys let’s go’: DC’s ‘Lanterns’ proves it’s proper prestige TV by casting acclaimed actress in key role

Ever since that fateful day back in early 2023 when James Gunn and Peter Safran unveiled the inaugural slate of projects for the new DC Universe, the hype has been on a perpetual upswing. Fast forward to today, and we’re expecting the first Superman trailer any week now, with Creature Commandos due for Max in early December.

But the true champion of DCU hype as of late has been Lanterns, the Green Lantern-centric mystery television series starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as Hal Jordan and John Stewart, the latter of which set off a victorious flourish throughout the internet not too long ago. And now, we have flourish number two.

Per Deadline, Lanterns has casted longtime Max darling Kelly Macdonald as Sheriff Kerry, a tough, dedicated law enforcement agent investigating the same murder that Hal and John are, and with her family nearby, the stakes are a bit more personal. Whispers suggest that Kerry will also have a romance subplot opposite Hal.

Kerry is an original character created exclusively for the DCU, although, phonetically speaking, her first name isn’t terribly dissimilar to that of Carol Ferris, the most prominent love interest in Hal Jordan’s comics history and a key bearer of the Star Sapphire villain alias. It is, of course, far too early to begin speculating anything like that, so our best bet is to just wait and see how the DCU handles a franchise-original character in the context of these timeless superheroes.

As for Macdonald herself, she brings an absolute heavyweight of a résumé to the table. Between her BAFTA Award, Primetime Emmy Award, and quartet of Screen Actors Guild Awards, her career has spanned Pixar (Brave), the Coen brothers (No Country for Old Men), the Wizarding World (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2), and prestige film and television (Gosford Park and Boardwalk Empire).

Macdonald is the third cast member to be confirmed for Lanterns, for which Chris Mundy (Ozark) will serve as showrunner with co-writers and executive producers Damon Lindelof (Lost, Watchmen) and Tom King — the Eisner Award-winning comic book author whose Supergirl miniseries serves as the basis for the DCU’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow film — also on board. The series is schedule to film from January 2025 to June of that same year.

Also shoring up the DCU’s television slate alongside Lanterns is the aforementioned Creature Commandos, the second season of Gunn’s critically acclaimed, John Cena-led Peacemaker series, the Viola Davis-led Peacemaker spin-off Waller, Themyscira-set political drama Paradise Lost, and rollicking time-travel story Booster Gold. An animated series starring the Jaime Reyes incarnation of Blue Beetle is also in development.

And as for the films, two untitled features — one featuring the Teen Titans and another featuring the villains Bane and Deathstroke — are currently in development, while a James Mangold-written-and-directed Swamp Thing film, Andy Muschietti’s Bat-Family feature The Brave and the Bold, and the mysterious The Authority all planned for the future.

Leading the charge, however, is Superman and the aforementioned Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the latter of which boasts a director in Craig Gillespie, a writer in Ana Nogueira, and a release date of June 26, 2026. The former, written and directed by Gunn himself, will swoop onto big screens everywhere on July 11, 2025.