It’s a great time to be a fan of superhero movies, with Avengers: Doomsday less than four months away and the latest MCU entry breaking several jaw-dropping records at the box office. Spider-Man: Brand New Dayhas already shot past the $2 billion mark at the global box office, becoming the second-fastest in history to do so, and has most recently become the fastest film in cinema history to hit $800 million at the domestic box office.
The so-called “best Spidey adventure in 20 years” is an almighty success, with it still holding hope to maybe even take the title of highest-grossing movie of all time. But Brand New Day isn’t the only superhero smash of this past month. Last week, superhero Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) finally made their debut on HBO Max, as millions tuned in to catch the first episode of Lanterns, part of the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.
Created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, the series officially debuted its gritty, True Detective-esque style with Episode 1, “Pilot,” which has already earned plenty of rave reviews. Scoring a near-perfect reaction from critics on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Lanterns is one of the highest-rated superhero projects of 2026 so far. For Collider, Michael John Petty awarded the series an 8/10, highlighting Chandler’s casting as perfect. So critics love the series so far, but how have audiences reacted? As soon as it arrived, Lanterns became the most-watched series on HBO Max in both the U.S. and across the world, defeating the previously all-conquering House of the Dragon.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn’t be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
03
What is the thing you’d sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
05
You’re facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you’re the only one who sees it defines everything.
06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they’d pay it again.
07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you’re in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What’s yours?
08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
Arrakis · Dune
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you’re capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn’t ask for but can’t escape.
Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won’t, is exactly you.
USS Enterprise · Star Trek
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you’ve always believed there’s a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you’ve earned it.
Kirk’s genius isn’t tactical — it’s human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
The Rebellion · Star Wars
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you’re fearless, but because giving up simply isn’t something you’re capable of.
You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you’ve never looked back.
Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
The Nostromo · Alien
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone’s hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
Ripley’s heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn’t have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn’t there.
When it counts, you don’t flinch. That’s everything.
The Wasteland · Mad Max
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
You don’t ask for help, don’t need validation, and don’t wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it’s earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
The DC Summer Hasn’t Been Entirely Positive
Lanterns has thankfully gotten off to a wonderful start on streaming, but the biggest DC swing of summer 2026 sadly underwhelmed. Following a hugely successful theatrical run for Superman the year prior, all eyes were on Milly Alcock and Supergirl to continue that trend. Instead, the film became one of the flops of the year, opening to just $38 million domestically and $68 million worldwide, against a reported budget of $170 million, and eventually failing to even recoup that budget.
Lanterns is the most-watched series on HBO Max in both the U.S. and across the world. Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest streaming stories.
