Damon Lindelof Apologizes for ‘Lanterns’ Controversy: ‘The Joke Was Dumb, The Fandom Is Not’

Damon Lindelof has apologized for jokes made about “Lanterns” on a podcast in 2024 that resurfaced amid discussion about the upcoming HBO show’s lack of green powers.

The “Lanterns” co-creator took to Instagram Monday night and apologized for cracking wise against the lack of green in the DC Comics series.

“I made a dumb joke on a comedy podcast,” Lindelof said. “I’m not going to bob and weave about context, the joke was dumb, the fandom is not. I owe them an explanation and a genuine reflection of my actual feelings.”

He added: “More importantly, it would be a betrayal to everyone I worked for and alongside to say anything other than I was absolutely honored to be a part of the team that manifested the incredible construct that is Lanterns … because it was. I was sloppy and careless with my words, ironic considering I care so much about Hal, John and the entire Corps.”

Lindelof’s comments came back in 2024 when he was a guest on the Lovett or Leave It podcast. He made a joke at the expense of the show’s title that is ringing a little more powerfully now.

“It’s called Lanterns, because we all agreed that the ‘Green’ was stupid, so now it’s just Lanterns,” he said on the podcast.

The joke is rattling fans now in the wake of the “Lanterns” trailer that dropped a couple weeks back. While there were certainly aspects to enjoy, fans noted a distinct lack of color – most obviously lack of green – from the show. The trailer and Lindelof’s comments were dredged back up after comic book writer Grant Morrison, who penned his own iconic Green Lantern run, wrote about it all in a Substack over the weekend.

“TV writer/producer Damon Lindelof’s comments notwithstanding, the ‘Green’ in ‘Green Lantern(s)’ is not ‘stupid,'” Morrison wrote. “Why does a writer attach himself to this kind of narrative if he thinks it’s fundamentally ‘stupid’? You don’t hand CSI scripts to patronising writers who condemn forensics experts and their haircuts as ‘stupid’, so why hire people who are ashamed and in denial about the comic book material they’ve been assigned to develop? Why don’t they turn down jobs they’re not suited for?”

“Lanterns” premieres on HBO in August and stars Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler.

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