Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for Lanterns Episode 7.
HBO’s Lanterns only has one more week left to go, and with its 2016 storyline officially wrapped up, the DCU series has jumped ahead by a decade, making quiet strides toward resolving a mystery that’s been hanging over the show from the beginning: who killed Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler)?
Despite being summoned back to Rushville by Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald), what John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) knows — and what the show ultimately reveals — is that Hal and John’s last conversation took place hours before Hal turned up dead on those bleachers. Before that, Hal had actually been trying to make amends for what happened in Rushville 10 years prior, even though the townspeople, including Kerry’s now-ex Billy Macon (Jason Ritter), still carry a lot of resentment towards the Green Lantern and everything that went down. While the show continues to creep closer to confirming the identity of Hal’s murderer, it does shine a spotlight on the fact that Rushville has been forever changed by the events of 2016.
Ahead of the Lanterns premiere, Collider had the opportunity to speak with several members of the cast and creative team, including Macdonald and Ritter. Over the course of the interview, which you can watch above or read below, the co-stars discuss playing several versions of Kerry and Billy over different points in time, Kerry’s emotional Episode 7 reunion scene with the Halogram, why Billy unwisely decides to pick a fight with John Stewart, and more.
COLLIDER: Kelly, the show is primarily set around two distinct timelines, but for Kerry, we do get a glimpse of what life was like for her before Rushville. I was wondering how learning about her history in Gotham and what she’s been through prior to ending up in Rushville helped you develop a stronger understanding of her character.
KELLY MACDONALD: I don’t have too much information aside from the fact that she’s from Gotham. There are people that want to kill her, and she makes… not a deal with the devil, but she signs her life over basically to Rushville and to being there and protecting it, and it ends up being her family. So, yeah, I think it is quite important.
It was really nice to actually film a slightly younger Kerry, and sort of see her, like, she’s a bit gothy. They gave me little bangs, and I got makeup. It was really fancy.
Jason, I feel like I’m not the only person that’s going to be thinking of Matlock when Billy first walks in. Your first official scene in Lanterns, that really funny courtroom scene, and the interaction that you and Kyle [Chandler] are having feels like a bit of a parallel. This is admittedly a less serious question, but which of those characters would you pick to represent you in a legal matter: Billy or Julian?
JASON RITTER: [Laughs] I would definitely pick Julian. Not anything against Billy, but I think Billy is kind of big-fish-in-a-little-pond syndrome, and so he knows the judges, he comes in, he makes deals. He’s not necessarily an expert of the law. So, yeah, I definitely would choose Julian — but maybe Julian with a mustache.
‘Lanterns’ Halogram Reunion Reminded Kelly Macdonald of Filming ‘Boardwalk Empire’
“It’s tricky because Hal Jordan’s still Hal Jordan…”
Fair enough. Kelly, we’ve obviously just been talking about Kerry’s past, but I really do love that we get to see the evolution of the character in both timelines, both in 2016 and then later in 2026. There’s been some estrangement, as well, between Hal and John, and how the ripple effects of that kind of still linger. How did you want to balance the external toughness that [Kerry] has to have as the sheriff of this town with some of the moments when we really see more vulnerability rise to the surface, especially while, in 2026, we see her grappling with the loss of Hal, too?
MACDONALD: I think from the get-go, when you meet Kerry, and certainly when Kerry meets Hal, they recognize in each other that there’s a lot of bravado masking something very vulnerable inside. The scripts, I think, are just lovely. The character arc, it’s so nice to have time. With a film, you’ve got such a short amount of time to get everything done, and it’s just so nice to spend time with the person and see them evolve, and that was the case here.
There’s a scene I’m thinking about [in Episode 7] specifically, as well, from you, where she finds herself confronted with that saved version of Hal from the ring, and it feels like you watch all of the emotions just going over your face in real time. I’m curious about how you prepared to film that scene, because it feels like we see a lot of emotion from her with very little dialogue.
MACDONALD: Thank you.
RITTER: I love that scene.
MACDONALD: I haven’t seen it, but I was there! I remember. It was funny because it makes me think about how I did an episode in Boardwalk Empire where my character’s having an affair with somebody, and then Nucky kills this character. They were keeping the actor in this box that my character’s meant to find. Like, I didn’t see him until I was on camera, so they would get the reaction of me seeing this actor all covered in blood and all deadified.
It’s tricky because Hal Jordan’s still Hal Jordan, but it’s working with somebody so professional and brilliant at their job as Kyle Chandler. He walked on, and just one look in his eyes, and he was not the person that’s got a history with Kerry, and so it just made it really easy. It was easy and emotional. The scripts allowed for all sorts of things to be going on in Kerry’s mind, because she’s feeling everything at once.
‘Lanterns’ Jason Ritter Reveals How the Last 10 Years Have Changed Billy Macon
“2026 is a very different time for Billy…”
To continue along the story of the time jump, Jason, I feel like you can see the lingering effects that the incident in 2016 has had on the town. Specifically, there’s that moment between you and Aaron [Pierre], and it feels like a very different Billy Macon that we’re seeing versus the one that we met back in 2016. The huge action and obviously the devastation that takes place, too, in Rushville, what sort of impact does that have on the character, especially in terms of the resentment that we now see towards the Green Lanterns?
RITTER: There’s been a lot of death in the town. And even though they’ve gotten divorced, it’s always tough when your ex-partner starts dating a superhero, so I’ve heard. So I think definitely, like a lot of happy-go-lucky people, your life and your outlook is one thing when things are pretty much going your way, and I think sometimes those people have further to fall when they encounter disappointment or trauma or devastation in their life.
Billy has a lot of anger and feelings of powerlessness. 2026 is a very different time for Billy, and also a time of maybe some misplaced confidence in terms of his ability to start fights and finish them. [Laughs]
Also, your characters are linked, obviously not just because of the past relationship, but there’s a child in the mix, too. I was wondering how the two of you wanted to approach continuing that partnership, because obviously they’re no longer married by the time we pick up with them 10 years later, but it seems like they are still trying to co-parent this young man [Noah], who clearly has a bright future ahead of him — even though, when we see him, he hasn’t quite made that decision yet of where he’s heading to college.
RITTER: Yes. In this period of time, I feel like there was so much divorce. There was not a lot of divorce, and then there was a lot of divorce in the ‘80s and ‘90s and things, and not a lot of understanding how it affected children, and then a lot of those kids grew up. I think there’s been a new sort of trend in divorces where generally people are trying to protect their kids, and say, “This is the most important element. We have our things between us, but let’s at least both try to be there for this kid as much as possible.” So I think they’ve been able to be humble enough to put their own differences to the side.
MACDONALD: And focus on him.
RITTER: And focus on the kid. Although I’m sure Billy’s asked if Noah’s hung out with Hal Jordan and all that kind of stuff. “What’s he like? Is he really funny?” Anyway, so there’s some of that stuff. Nothing too devastating.
New episodes of Lanterns premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
