Lanterns

Editors – Vikash Patel, Matthew V. Colonna, ACE and Emily E. Greene, ACE Lanterns editors Vikash Patel, Matthew V. Colonna, ACE and Emily E. Greene, ACE return to The Rough Cut to discuss shaping an HBO series that brings the Green Lantern mythology down to Earth and combines superhero storytelling with the structure and atmosphere of a detective drama. For Vikash, the series also meant taking on a broader role as supervising editor and associate producer, working alongside showrunner Chris Mundy to maintain a consistent editorial language across the entire season. Created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King, Lanterns stars Kyle Chandler as veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as new recruit John Stewart. The two intergalactic lawmen are drawn into a dark, Earth-bound mystery after investigating a murder in the American heartland, gradually uncovering a larger conspiracy with implications that reach far beyond the case in front of them. The series also stars Kelly Macdonald, Garrett Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan and Ulrich Thomsen. The eight-episode season moves between detective story, character drama, science fiction and superhero mythology while also navigating multiple time periods and a substantial visual-effects workload. Vikash helped establish the tone through the early episodes and remained involved across the season, working with the other editors, showrunner Chris Mundy, composer Stephanie Economou and the broader post-production team to keep the series cohesive. In our conversation, Vikash, Matthew and Emily discuss finding the balance between the grounded crime-drama elements and the larger Green Lantern mythology, controlling the pace and structure of the pilot, navigating multiple timelines, and deciding how much information an audience needs as the central mystery unfolds. They also talk about building an efficient VFX pipeline, shaping action before effects are finished, using music and needle drops to define different periods and emotional states, and maintaining consistency across episodes being handled by different editors. VIKASH PATEL Vikash Patel is an Emmy-winning editor whose credits include Lanterns, Black Rabbit, Ozark, The Sympathizer, The Morning Show, Bates Motel and Longmire. He worked extensively with Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy on Ozark, editing twenty episodes across the series and earning an Emmy nomination for his work. On Lanterns, Vikash expanded his responsibilities beyond individual episodes, serving as supervising editor and associate producer and helping oversee the editorial and post-production process across the full season. MATTHEW V. COLONNA, ACE Matthew V. Colonna, ACE is an editor whose television credits include Lanterns, It: Welcome to Derry, Sugar, Castle Rock, Locke & Key, Narcos and Dexter. His work spans crime drama, horror, science fiction and large-scale genre television. Prior to Lanterns, Matthew joined The Rough Cut to discuss helping establish the world and supernatural tension of HBO's It: Welcome to Derry. EMILY E. GREENE, ACE Emily E. Greene, ACE is an editor whose credits include Lanterns, Paper Girls, Foundation, Mrs. America, American Crime Story and The Blacklist. Her work has ranged from character-driven historical drama to large-scale science fiction and visual-effects storytelling. Emily has previously appeared on The Rough Cut to discuss both Mrs. America and Paper Girls, two very different series that required careful management of ensemble storytelling, shifting points of view and complex narrative structure. The Credits Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs. Hear Vikash discuss his work on BLACK RABBIT. Listen to Vikash break down the final season of OZARK. Hear Matthew discuss his work on IT: WELCOME TO DERRY. Listen to Emily discuss editing MRS. AMERICA. Hear Emily return to talk about the sci-fi series PAPER GIRLS. Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode. Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube.