{"id":8137,"date":"2026-08-24T13:26:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T12:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=8137"},"modified":"2026-08-24T13:26:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T12:26:58","slug":"lanterns-showrunner-massive-clue-about-who-the-manhunter-is-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/08\/24\/lanterns-showrunner-massive-clue-about-who-the-manhunter-is-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Lanterns showrunner just dropped a massive clue about who the Manhunter really is"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for Lanterns episode two*<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A new episode of Lanterns just landed on HBO, and with it a brand new mystery for Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler)<\/a> and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) to solve: just who the hell is the Manhunter hiding out on Earth?<\/span><\/p>\n

Following <\/span>that<\/span><\/i> reveal of a dead Hal in the 2026 timeline<\/a>, episode two takes us back to 2016, when Hal sends John to his house to grab the lantern and charge up their ring. But on his way back to Rushville, John is kidnapped by a group of aliens (disguised as humans) and taken to their leader, Antaan (Paul Ben-Victor).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It turns out they’re connected to the four mysterious aliens killed at the football field in episode one. Antaan tells John about the evil Manhunters, ancient synthetic beings capable of disguising themselves as other species and creating incredibly advanced technology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the DC<\/a> comics, the Manhunters were actually the Guardians of the Universe\u2019s first attempt at creating an intergalactic police force. They eventually rebelled against their creators after becoming increasingly violent, with the Guardians replacing them with the Green Lantern Corps.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Antaan
Credit: HBO Max<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anyway, back to Antaan. He claims a Manhunter secretly lived among his people before turning on them and almost wiping out their entire civilisation. Antaan uses alien technology to force John to experience the horrifying massacre himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Green Lantern later captured the culprit and supposedly took it away to be executed, but Antaan believes it survived and is now hiding in Rushville in human form.<\/span><\/p>\n

The aliens killed in episode one were actually members of Antaan\u2019s group who had travelled to Rushville looking for the Manhunter. And this presents another problem: because Hal showed up shortly after, he suspects Hal knows about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Antaan gives John just 48 hours to identify the Manhunter, warning that his people will take matters into their own hands if not.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, after confirming the alien detectors on the football field were from William Macon (Garret Dillahunt), Hal pays him a visit, believing there may be more advanced technology on his compound.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"William
Credit: HBO Max<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But his investigation leads to him getting shot for trespassing (he\u2019s not dead, at least not in this timeline). Once reunited, John tells Hal everything he learned from Antaan – and Hal clearly knows more about the Manhunters than he\u2019s letting on.<\/span><\/p>\n

The episode ends by introducing another major name from Green Lantern lore. Hal travels off-world to visit his imprisoned former mentor Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen), hoping he can shed some light on the Manhunter threat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Sinestro has something else on his mind, warning that a surviving Manhunter would only be the second-biggest threat Hal currently faces before turning the conversation to John Stewart.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, we know someone – or something – is apparently hiding out in Rushville. And while episode two deliberately leaves its identity a mystery, Lanterns<\/a> showrunner Chris Mundy just dropped a pretty big clue.<\/span><\/p>\n

The biggest clue about the Manhunter\u2019s real identity<\/h2>\n
\"John
Credit: HBO Max<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking to <\/span>Entertainment Weekly<\/span><\/a>, Mundy said when the creative team got together to talk about the show\u2019s concept, they considered multiple ideas but ultimately came back to having the Manhunters in Lanterns\u2019 2016 timeline.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we brought in the other three writers and all the assistants who were also in the room, we didn\u2019t know how per se, but we felt like we could locate it and there could be a mystery inside the context of Rushville,\u201d Mundy said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And here\u2019s where it gets interesting: \u201cIt felt like you could have somebody hiding in plain sight and it tied back to the Guardians. And, in some ways, since this was about passing the torch\u2026 you could almost see the paper trail.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s not exactly a confirmation, but the fact that the Manhunter is someone \u201chiding in plain sight\u201d narrows it down somewhat. Right now, William Macon is the most obvious answer after he installed alien detection tech, has a highly protected compound and shot Hal when he went looking for answers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But maybe this is a little <\/span>too<\/span><\/i> obvious. That\u2019s why some DC fans are pointing to his wife Zoe Macon (Poorna Jagannathan).<\/span><\/p>\n

As one <\/span>Redditor<\/span><\/a> wrote, \u201cShe\u2019s married to William Macon, a deeply xenophobic man who\u2019s terrified of the idea of aliens colonizing Earth. That alone makes me suspicious of her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hal
Credit: HBO Max<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat if William\u2019s paranoia isn\u2019t entirely his own? Zoe could have been subtly feeding those fears for years, reinforcing his worst instincts and pushing him toward seeing extraterrestrials as an existential threat.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt would also explain why Zoe seems to be driving an even deeper wedge between Hal and John. If she really is a Manhunter, dividing two Green Lanterns makes perfect strategic sense.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, another person countered, \u201cI think she\u2019s a red herring personally but we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And there\u2019s an even more interesting theory that would take \u201chiding in plain sight\u201d to another level: Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gotta be Kerry,\u201d wrote one Redditor, noting how she said she worked hard to be in charge of the town.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a couple of holes in this theory, however. Firstly, in episode two, Kerry reveals that she\u2019s actually from Gotham City originally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n