HBO’s live-action series Lanterns has ruffled up some feathers, and things aren’t looking so well. The show has been in the face of controversy ever since the makers released the trailer. Grant Morrison, too, criticized the adaptation, and here’s why.
Grant Morrison slams HBO’s Lanterns’ adaptation
Grant Morrison, on his substack, addressed Damon Lindelof’s comments, saying: “Why does a writer attach himself to this kind of narrative if he thinks it’s fundamentally ‘s—–’? You don’t hand CSI scripts to patronizing writers who condemn forensics experts and their haircuts as ‘s—-’, so why hire people who are ashamed and in denial about the comic book material they’ve been assigned to develop?
This was in response to Lindelof’s comments about the show not being green. Lindelof is the screenwriter behind HBO’s Lanterns. He appeared in the Lovett or Leave It Podcast hosted by Jon Lovett. It was in this 2024 episode that he made a comment saying, “It’s called Lanterns because we all agreed that the green was s—–.”
To give context, this was during the time the HBO series was announced back in 2024. The trailer itself was criticized by fans and enthusiasts who blatantly pointed out the lack of green. They also weren’t happy with the naming of the series and how the creators approached the source material.
Morrison, who is a famed comic book writer, has worked closely with DC Comics. From Doom Patrol to The Invisible Man, he has worked on a range of series for DC. He also expressed his concerns regarding Lindelof’s dismissal of fans and the comic’s authenticity.
The internet did not take kindly to Lindelof’s comments, and many fans criticized him. Some were disappointed by the comments about “green being stupid.” Others also pointed out that major film and TV series projects bear the brunt of inauthenticity because creators hate the fanbases.
Of late, Lindelof opened up about the entire controversy on his Instagram. He wrote a post addressing Morrison and went on to explain that his joke was, indeed, “sloppy and careless.”
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