A regular stream of TV series and films adapted from other source material means everybody’s got opinions. And if you’re on social media, you’re bound to see them, whether you want to or not. You can count Lanterns among them: the new HBO show’s garnered strong Reactions from viewers, and co-creator Damon Lindelof used its recent premiere to call out the most vitriolic fans.
“Source material is supposed to change and evolve [by definition],” Lindelof told the Hollywood Reporter. Citing his past experience adapting works like Watchmen and Star Wars, he acknowledged “a level of hubris in taking on any preexisting IP. […] There’s almost a responsibility to take risks. I don’t think anybody wants to see you be completely and totally vigilant to the source material because then it isn’t an adaptation at all. Shouldn’t we be beyond this conversation by now?”
Like Lanterns, Universal’s The Odyssey has been hit with Reactions comparing it to the source material. (Much of which have been racist and transphobic.) Director Christopher Nolan said he had to just go his own way while making the film, and it’s a sentiment Lindelof echoed. “Nobody doing what we do goes to sleep at night wondering whether we pissed off the fans. We go to bed asking, ‘Did I do anything worthwhile creatively? Did I put anything authentically emotional into this story that people can relate to?'”
As “insufferable” as such discussions are, Lindelof admitted to finding them an important part of the fan ecosystem. Speaking about himself and co-creator Tom King, he stressed they came into Lanterns “as fans of this content long before we got the opportunity to make it. […] We started from a place of ‘What would excite me? What would I hate?'”
Likely speaking about Hal Jordan’s death, which is revealed at the end of Lanterns’ first episode, Lindelof stressed such risks aren’t done “just for the sake of taking them; you’ve got to earn them. I don’t think anybody wants to see you be completely and totally vigilant to the source material because then it isn’t an adaptation at all.”
New episodes of Lanterns premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max, where you can see whether Lindelof and King’s risks pay off and work for you.
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