DC Studios an HBO unpacked the mystery box behind Lanterns, bringing the upcoming series into the bright day at Comic-Con. Among the reveals in the new trailer was a look at the archnemesis Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen), as well as the reveal that the race known as Manhunters are the big threat of the series.

Aaron Pierre leads Lanterns as John Stewart, a young Green Lantern in training, while Kyle Chandler plays veteran Lantern Hal Jordan.

Pierre worked up the crowd by talking his affinity for the character. “If I had the choice to choose any character in the DC Universe , I would still choose John Stewart,” said the actor. “I would chose John every time.”

Pierre said that less than 20 percent of the show was shot on the Warner Bros. lot. The rest was all over the state. And the cast and crew became a family. Pierre said he was doing pushups with the transport crew. “You can feel the family, you can feel the unit…whatever happens, we poured our hearts into this,” he said.

The series is co-created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, and also stars Garret Dillahunt and Poorna Jagannath.

Per the logline, Lanterns follows “two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery with cosmic ties as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.”

The series bows Aug. 16 on HBO and also stars Kelly Macdonald, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Nathan Fillion, J. Alphonse Nicholson and Jasmine Cephas Jones.

DC Studios most recently released the Emmys juggernaut The Penguin in 2024, as well as the Gunn-created Peacemaker season two last year.

More to come.