The ring left the body. That is the theory, and it is meaner than a resurrection.

Hal is dead. John does not have the ring. Guy Gardner does. Lanterns is not asking who the hero is. It is asking who the light trusts.

Spoiler weather is in effect. Hal Jordan dies in the Lanterns premiere’s 2026 frame. John Stewart is standing there without the ring. The writers have pointed at Guy Gardner. The internet has already started bargaining for a fake-out.

Do not take the fake-out. The interesting version is that the Corps is a bureaucracy with a preference, and the preference is not loyalty. A ring that jumps to the nearest viable lantern is not a plot hole. It is a character. It says the universe does not owe Hal a last stand and does not owe John a promotion just because he was in the room.

A ring that can choose is a more interesting villain than a man who cannot stay dead.

My working theory: 2016 is the story of how John learned to hate the way Hal uses the light, and 2026 is the story of John solving a murder without the tool that would make him a star. That is why the dual timeline is not a gimmick. One plot is about mentorship. The other is about what is left when mentorship is a corpse.

If they bring Hal back as flesh instead of a recording, they will have chickened out of the only adult idea in the room. Let the hologram haunt. Let Guy be the worst correct choice. Let John be a detective first. Superhero TV almost never trusts a hero without the toy. This one should.