Why Lanterns Works: HBO's Quality Control Is the Lesson DC Studios' Films Need

Lanterns is really, really good, and I think the real reason is HBO. The show is proving that DC Studios can make excellent work without James Gunn writing and directing it, and it is also showing what the DC film side may be missing.

Marvel, my sweet Marvel, has without question bested DC when it comes to theatrical film success. But on the small screen, Marvel just cannot hold a candle to HBO. I want to explain why I love this show, what Marvel could and should learn from HBO in order to compete in TV, and, in a roundabout way, what DC Studios could learn from Marvel when it comes to its films.

Lanterns is not the Green Lantern show some expected, but it is very Green Lantern

I am loving this show. I love the mystery of the story, I love its dark comedy, and above everything else, it just feels like a really good show. It is one that anyone could turn on, watch and enjoy. If you happen to be a big Green Lantern and DC fan, you will appreciate it even more. Or, in the case of some fans, not at all.

This show isn't at all what you would expect from a Green Lantern series, and I understand why some might have had something very different in mind. "But if you ask me, I think it's fantastic. And I think it's very Green Lantern." It is two space cops investigating an alien invasion in small town Nebraska. That is Green Lantern. He is the guardian of Earth, and this is exactly the type of mission you would expect to see Green Lantern on.

I love the grizzled old dog vibe they have given Hal Jordan, and I love John Stewart's hunger to become Green Lantern. I love the dichotomy between the two characters and their constant bickering, along with the mutual respect you can see does exist between them. I am also really digging the True Detective, Taylor Sheridan kind of feel the show brings. It is HBO, and that is who we have to thank for this show being so right.

HBO's DC shows beat everything else in comic book TV, Marvel included

HBO's DC shows, not to be confused with other DC properties such as the CW shows, are better than anything else in the game of comic book TV. I say that as a lover of Daredevil, Loki and WandaVision, but none of them come close to what HBO has done with its DC properties.

HBO is a key reason that the shows before Lanterns, Penguin and Peacemaker, have been so top notch. They have achieved the goal of being quality television that anyone can tune into and really enjoy, whether or not they are comic book fans. It is no secret that I am a big James Gunn fan, so it will be no surprise when I say that Gunn is largely the one to thank for the brilliance behind Peacemaker.

Penguin is the clearest example of an HBO show anyone can enjoy

Penguin is an even better example. It is, of course, a DC comic show, with references and story beats that DC Comics fans will enjoy. But like Lanterns, it is just a great show that anyone can turn on. You do not need to have seen the Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson Batman. It helps, but you don't have to have seen it, because before everything else, Penguin is a well put together show made by the best in the business, the folks at HBO.

That is what you can always expect from HBO. It is a premium brand that does not, under any circumstances, put out poor work, and it has a track record that I would argue is second to none. Maybe you could say Apple TV Plus is getting on par with HBO. But "when you see HBO above the title of a series, you know, it is going to be well worth your time."

It is not those three little letters that make the shows great, though. It is the commitment to excellence, the culture HBO has had for years now. There is a team behind the HBO shows, and I don't know any of their names, but they have to exist, making sure a certain level of quality is maintained. My friend Lee did the best breakdown of this show on ScreenCrush, covering all the Easter eggs, references and little things you might have missed, so I have no interest in competing with that. What interests me is this HBO side of the story.

Lanterns is the first good DC Studios project not written and directed by James Gunn

I think there is a correlation between Lanterns being an HBO show and Lanterns being the first DC Studios project not written and directed by James Gunn that is actually any good. The DCU consists of Creature Commandos, Peacemaker, Superman, Supergirl and Lanterns, with Clayface coming out soon. So far, the only two DCU projects not created by Gunn are Supergirl and Lanterns. And while Supergirl wasn't awful, it wasn't that good either.

Soon we will begin to see whether Supergirl was just a bump in the road. If Clayface comes out and it is absolutely phenomenal, that will be a sign that maybe Supergirl was a fluke, and that DC Studios can make projects without Gunn as writer and director and still have them be good. But if Clayface comes out and it is bad or just fine, that starts becoming more of a pattern where DC Studios movies not written and directed by Gunn are bad. That would still only be two movies, a very small sample size, but it would be a step in the wrong direction.

Gunn is the head of DC Studios and very much had a hand in the creation of Lanterns. But this is not a James Gunn show. He didn't write it and he didn't direct it, and I don't believe he was even on set that much, if at all. It doesn't have his fingerprints all over it. What it did have was HBO acting as quality control, making sure a show carrying its prestige name was of top notch quality. Lanterns being so good where Supergirl fell flat makes me wonder whether the DC Studios movies might benefit from having an equivalent to HBO in the room.

DC Studios needs an HBO style team of proven producers for its films

DC Studios has two heads, James Gunn and Peter Safran. Safran is a business oriented guy who does a great job putting the right people together to make a quality product, which is what a producer needs to do. But being a producer is a little different from being a studio head, which is a little different again from heading an interconnected cinematic universe. So far there have been two DCU movies, Superman and Supergirl. One was written and directed by Gunn and one was not. One was very good and one was not.

Two movies is not a good sample size, and we need Clayface and other projects not made by Gunn to reach the big screen before we can determine whether DC Studios has a quality problem. My hope is that Clayface proves Supergirl was just a bump in the road. If it isn't very good, though, we will have to start looking at DC Studios needing the movie equivalent of a prestige quality management team like HBO's.

I want Gunn to keep full creative control of this cinematic universe. But if he is going to continue writing and directing his own DC movies, which pulls him away from his studio head job, he needs deputies: producers with a proven track record who can help execute his vision and guide the writers, directors, cinematographers, colorists and editors, managing projects so they deliver hit after hit. I think Lanterns is proving so good without Gunn there to hold its hand because HBO and its proven producers put together a quality team of creatives and held them to a standard.

I am not calling for too many cooks in the kitchen, or for people with egos and big ideas about what the DCU needs to be. I mean a team of people who have worked in this business for a long time and have a track record of quality films, people who could be there for the movies the way HBO's team has been there for Lanterns. That way Gunn can go do things like Man of Tomorrow without it resulting in another Supergirl situation. Right now, I don't think DC Studios has that. I think it is leaning way too heavily on Gunn. It is a brand new studio that has made three movies, is making a fourth, and has so far released only two. "This studio needs a team bigger than James Gunn." I am thinking of producers who have worked at Marvel Studios, A24, Neon, Searchlight, you name it.

All of this is my roundabout way of saying Lanterns is really, really good, and a good sign that DC Studios can make great work without Gunn in the room. I hope HBO continues to do this for any future DC shows not written and directed by Gunn, and I hope the films can find a similar team. If Gunn can have deputies on set whose job is to make sure nothing is rushed and no corners are cut, which is what HBO does with its productions, DC is going to be in a really solid position.

Do you think Clayface will prove Supergirl was just a bump in the road, or does DC Studios need its own version of HBO's quality control?