- Primary Subject: Lanterns Season 1 Finale and Hal Jordan's Fate
- Key Update: The Lanterns season 1 finale revealed the culprit behind Hal Jordan's death, confirming his fate.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: October 5, 2026
- Quick Answer: The Lanterns season 1 finale definitively revealed Hal Jordan's killer, while co-creator Damon Lindelof confirmed early Season 2 development work is already underway.
The recently aired first season finale of Lanterns finally revealed the culprit behind the killing of Hal Jordan.
Since the first episode of the DCU series, the mystery surrounding the murder of Hal Jordan has made fans speculate as they figure out who might be the suspect behind his death or whether it's just a red herring.
Now that the finale has aired, we have the answer to the season-long mystery, and it's a surprising one.
SPOILER WARNING: This article includes spoilers for the first season finale of Lanterns, so proceed with caution.
Who Killed Hal Jordan in Lanterns? Season Finale Reveals the Answer
The first season finale of Lanterns revealed that it was Kerry Kane who killed Hal Jordan in the present-day timeline of the DCU series.
This is a shocking revelation, considering that Hal and Kerry have a romantic relationship and she would be the last person that some audiences would even consider when they were theorizing who may have killed Hal.
As it turns out, Hal found out that Kerry's son, Noah, is a Manhunter. Out of fear that he would take action regarding the discovery, Kerry shot him in the head.
Noah tried to take the blame for Hal's death to protect his mother, but John Stewart found out the truth himself and suggested that he and Kerry move away to protect themselves from potential retaliation by the Guardians.
However, it also revealed that Hal's death is permanent, since there is no twist that it was just a red herring, and the season finale solidified the fan-favorite character's demise. In other words, we won't see Hal Jordan again in DCU projects set in future timelines.
John is now the "independent" Lantern of Earth on the ground because of the "unsanctioned" ring that was charged from Sinestro's yellow lantern. Meanwhile, Guy Gardner was forced to take on a different duty instead by protecting the rest of the space sector.
Is Lanterns Already Renewed for Season 2?
In an interview with Collider, co-creator Damon Lindelof confirmed that the second season of Lanterns is already in development, although there has been no official renewal yet from HBO.
"I can only tell you that everybody in the Season 1 room, inclusive of the writers who are working on ideating on Season 2, felt like even though we knew that it was going to be emotionally devastating and/or disappointing and maybe even frustrating, that the worst possible schmuck-baity thing that we could do is show you a pilot where Hal Jordan was definitively dead, and then try to walk it back and say, 'Oh, he was a clone' or 'He's only mostly dead' in the Princess Bride vernacular," he teased.
"In terms of like moving forward into subsequent seasons of the show, I swear to you, as I look at you in the eye on Wednesday this 30th of September, I do not know anything about the creative, and I wouldn't want to hamstring those writers in any way for what future storytelling mechanisms they could indulge in."
For now, stay tuned for updates from HBO and DC Studios on whether they will officially renew the series for a second season.
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