The Lanterns Show has hired its first director

In recent weeks, Warner Bros. has been making big moves with its upcoming film Lanterns show. After several stars were reportedly circling for the lead role of Hal Jordan, the role finally went to the cast Friday Night Lights Alum Kyle Chandler. Now the DC Comics drama has managed to go one step further and put someone behind the camera as the opening act.

According to Hollywood Reporter, British director James Hawes will direct the first two episodes of the series and has also been hired as an executive producer for the series. Hawes is a recurring director for Slow horses on AppleTV+ and has also directed several genre shows including Doctor Who And Raised by wolves. But Lanterns is not just a science fiction series, it is also said to have a dark cop atmosphere à la True detectiveand Hawes has some experience there: along with slow horses, He has directed series reminiscent of police officers The alienist And Mr. Whicher’s suspicions.

There have also been some minor casting moves, according to THR Lanterns Co-leader John Stewart. Last week Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge) and Stephan James (Beacon 23) were reported to be in the running for the role, in which John will be the newbie mentored by Chandler’s more experienced hero Hal, and the outlet now says both men tested for the role on Thursday and Friday. For now, they still appear to be the only two front-runners for the role, and we’ll let you know who ultimately gets it once the decision is made.

Lanterns He sees Hal and John doing their space cop thing on Earth, investigating a murder in the American heartland that falls under their jurisdiction. As they search, the duo encounters something darker that may resonate throughout the rest of the galaxy. The eight-episode season will be led by showrunner Chris Mundy, who also wrote and EP’d the series leftovers alum Damon Lindelof and comic book writer Tom King.

We will have more information on this Lanterns as it will be distributed ahead of the series’ eventual release on Max – or rather HBO (again) – in the near future.

Want more io9 news? Find out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and television, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.