A live-action series based on the Teen Titans entered development in September 2014. Intended forTNT, a pilot written by Goldsman and Marc Haimes was ordered that December, but TNT departed from the project in 2016 before filming took place. By April 2017, the series was redeveloped by Goldsman, Johns, and Berlanti forDC Universe as its first original scripted program. Thwaites was cast as Dick in September and other series regulars were cast between August and October.
Titans premiered on October 12, 2018, and ran for four seasons until May 11, 2023. Thefirst andsecond seasons were released on DC Universe, and thethird andfourth seasons were released onHBO Max.
Titans follows the young superheroes of theeponymous team as they combat evil and other perils.[1] Disbanded when the story begins, the series sees the team return when the original and new members reform the Titans. The Titans fight crime throughout various locations, includingDetroit,San Francisco,Gotham City, andMetropolis.
In thefirst season, Rachel comes to Dick for protection from dangerous forces pursuing her, which leads to them meeting and teaming up with Kory and Gar. The heroes eventually learn that Rachel is being targeted by her demon fatherTrigon, who seeks to enslave the world. The season also depicts Dick's efforts to distance himself from his mentor and hisRobin persona, while Kory struggles with a bout of amnesia that leaves her unaware of her true identity.
Thesecond season focuses on the official reformation of the Titans as Dick trains a new team composed of Rachel, Gar, and Jason. The Titans' return, however, leads to the reemergence of feared assassinDeathstroke, whose prior conflict with the original team caused their disbanding. As Deathstroke attempts to eliminate the heroes, the original Titans are forced to face him again, while other threats emerge from the malevolentCadmus Laboratories and Kory's sisterBlackfire.
Thethird season sees the Titans travel to Gotham City after Jason is murdered, where Dick teams up in protecting the city with Police CommissionerBarbara Gordon. When Jason returns under the control of notorious criminalJonathan Crane, the Titans find themselves battling their former teammate to prevent Crane from destroying Gotham. Also depicted are Kory's tense reunion with Blackfire, who seeks redemption for past actions and Donna's return from the afterlife following her death in the previous season.
In thefourth and final season, the Titans' visit to Metropolis is interrupted by the murder ofLex Luthor. They discover an apocalyptic prophecy centered onSebastian Sanger, Trigon's son, as theChurch of Blood, led byMother Mayhem, plot to have Sebastian fulfill his destiny of destroying the world.
Brenton Thwaites asDick Grayson / Robin / Nightwing: The leader of the Titans and former vigilante sidekick ofBatman, seeking to move past his mentor and hisRobin persona.[2][3][4] A member of the original team, he re-forms the Titans while assuming the new identity ofNightwing. Viewing his character as a "reluctant leader", Thwaites said Dick is "trying to figure out who he is at the same time he's trying to keep the crew protected and safe".[5] Tomaso Sanelli, Viktor Sawchuk, and Taj Levey play the young Dick.
Anna Diop asKoriand'r / Kory Anders / Starfire: An extraterrestrial royal from the planetTamaran who has the ability to absorb and redirect solar energy.[6] Sent to Earth to assassinate Rachel, a bout of amnesia causes Kory to forget her mission and join the Titans. Diop commented the character has a "really innocent, naïve, pure, fun, curious thing about her", which she sought to bring to her portrayal, and enjoyed playing an alien due to being aSenegalese immigrant.[7]
Teagan Croft asRachel Roth / Raven: An empath born to a demon father and human mother.[8][1] At first understanding little of her lineage and abilities, Rachel's powers lead her to Dick and subsequently becoming a member of the new Titans. Croft noted Rachel's relationship with Dick is "more of a father-daughter relationship" since they both "share the same feeling of abandonment".[9]
Ryan Potter asGar Logan / Beast Boy / Changeling: A shapeshifter who can transform into a green version of various animals, mainly a tiger, after receiving a drug that cured him of a lethal disease.[10] Gar previously lived with theDoom Patrol before joining Dick's new Titans team. A fan of the character since he watched theanimatedTeen Titans series, Potter described Gar as bringing "a warmth to the show" through "humor and lighthearted moments".[11]
Curran Walters asJason Todd / Robin / Red Hood (seasons 2–4; recurring season 1): Dick's successor as Batman's vigilante sidekick who is brought into the new Titans team at the request of Bruce Wayne.[12] According to Walters, Jason has both a "fun" and a "dark side" and transitioning between the two was the most challenging aspect of portraying the character.[13]
Conor Leslie asDonna Troy / Wonder Girl (seasons 2–3; guest season 1): A half-Amazon sharing their enhanced physical abilities. FormerlyWonder Woman's sidekick, she befriended Dick at an early age and was on the original Titans team.[14] Leslie noted Donna has "a brother-sister friendship" with Dick and the two "understand each other in a way no one else ever will".[15] Andi Hubick and Afrodite Drossos portray the young Donna.
Minka Kelly asDawn Granger / Dove (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1): A vigilante who serves as a tactical counterpart to her partner and boyfriend Hank.[16] Kelly described Dawn's fighting style as "more that of a dance" due to the character's background in ballet, jiu-jitsu, and gymnastics, whereas Hank "is a brute and just blows stuff up".[17]
Alan Ritchson asHank Hall / Hawk (seasons 2–3; recurring season 1): The aggressive half in a vigilante duo composed of himself and his girlfriend Dawn.[18] In addition to forming the Hawk and Dove team with his half-brother Don, he was part of the original Titans. Initially reluctant to take the role because he previously portrayedAquaman on the seriesSmallville, Ritchson said he accepted the part after hearing a pitch from series co-creatorGeoff Johns.[19] Tait Blum portrays the young Hank.
Esai Morales asSlade Wilson / Deathstroke (season 2): A biologically enhanced assassin and formerDelta Force operator who has a history with the original Titans.[20] Morales stated Deathstroke's conflict against the Titans is "personal" for him "because you don't mess with a man's family".[21]
Chelsea Zhang asRose Wilson (season 2): Deathstroke's daughter, who shares his enhanced reflexes and regenerative healing.[22][23] For her performance, Zhang said she would reference Rose's comic depiction where "her attitude, her sass, and her sarcasm is written all over the books".[24]
Joshua Orpin asSubject 13 / Conner Kent / Superboy (seasons 2–4): A genetic clone ofSuperman andLex Luthor, possessing the abilities and personality traits of both. Created atCadmus Laboratories, he comes into contact with the Titans after escaping from the facility with Krypto.[25][26] Acknowledging he was fascinated by Conner's internal conflict, Orpin noted "he has an extraordinary capacity for good, and for evil" where "nothing is black and white to him, and yet everything is".[27] Body double Brooker Muir plays the character in the first season.
Savannah Welch asBarbara Gordon (season 3): The commissioner of theGotham City Police Department, succeeding herlate father.[28] Welch, who is an above-knee amputee, found it important to "represent the reality of a woman who is chair-bound as closely as possible" in her performance to ensure "anyone who is chair-bound, or in a position that is close to that, does truly feel represented".[29][30]
Vincent Kartheiser as Dr.Jonathan Crane (season 3): A criminal psychologist who exploits the fears of his victims. Incarcerated atArkham Asylum, he assists the Gotham City police with their investigations.[31] Showrunner Greg Walker described Crane as "a perfect villain" whose knowledge of phobias results in him "working off your feelings and your emotions, and that's where we want to live".[30]
Damaris Lewis asKomand'r / Blackfire (season 3; guest season 2): A Tamaranean royal and Kory's younger sister.[32][33] Lacking their family's ability to generate fire, she holds a strained relationship with Kory. Lewis, noting that Blackfire's nature is the result of not being accepted by her family and society, said she was drawn to playing a villainous character because "the villains are the ones who don't fit in".[34]
Jay Lycurgo asTim Drake / Robin (season 4; recurring season 3): A resident of Gotham who is a big Batman and Robin fan and wishes to be a hero like them. He joins the Titans at the end of the third season.
A potential live-actionTitans project for cable channelTNT was announced in September 2014.[37] By December, a pilot written byAkiva Goldsman and Marc Haimes was ordered that would feature Dick Grayson emerging from Batman's shadow to becomeNightwing, the leader of a band of heroes including Starfire, Raven, Hawk and Dove, andOracle. The pilot was set with filming to occur in Toronto in mid-2015.[38][39] In May 2015, TNT president Kevin Reilly said that they hoped to have the casting locked down by the start of filming and that the show would be "very true" to the comics and "groundbreaking".[40] The series, calledTitans and thenBlackbirds, was first set to begin shooting inToronto in mid-2015.[41] Production was then postponed to October.[42] In January 2016, TNT was no longer moving forward with the project.[43][44]Geoff Johns later commented that he and DC knew about TNT nixingTitans for months.[45] Johns, who had spent seven years developing the material with Goldsman, said in October 2018 that the project depended on securing the rights to Dick Grayson.[46] He said: "You couldn't doTitans without Robin ... So there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work that went into that".[46] Previous Titans projects had been hampered by the rights to Batman being locked up.[46]
In April 2017,Warner Bros. announced the seriesTitans to debut in 2018 on DC Comics' own direct-to-consumer digital service. The series was developed by Goldsman, Johns,Greg Berlanti andSarah Schechter, with Goldsman, Johns and Berlanti writing the pilot episode. Showrunner duties were given to Greg Walker.[47] All are also executive producers of the series for Weed Road Pictures andBerlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros Television.[48] Though twelve episodes were initially announced,[49] the eleventh episode was billed as the first-season finale in December 2018.[50][51]
Ahead of the series' premiere atNew York Comic Con in October 2018,Titans was renewed for a second season[52] and the elements of the twelfth episode of the first season were moved to the second season's premiere.[53] The 13-episode second season premiered on September 6, 2019.[54] Production of season 2 was temporarily put on hold in July 2019 due to the accidental death of special effects coordinator Warren Appleby; the season 2 premiere is dedicated in his memory.[55][56]
Johns noted the series was inspired mostly by theTeen Titans comics of the 1980s, since that comic's run "had so much drama" and "was so revolutionary for its time". He added: "We really wanted to lean into the idea that every Titan of these Titans is a doorway into another genre. With Rachel [a.k.a. Raven], it's the supernatural and the horror, and the first season really focuses on who Raven is and how the Titans galvanize around her". Johns also felt the series would be "a little more adult" than the television seriesRiverdale, calling it "not necessarily a teen drama, but more of an adventure piece".[66] Regarding the show's tone, Johns said that they "wanted to do something different from everything else out there. We wanted to arrive at a tone that wasn't as welcoming as some of the DC shows have been, nor as nihilistic as some of the films have been".[46] Goldsman said that as the series continues, it will ask "How are these broken people going to cohere? Or will they?"[46] Johns noted that Robin's infamous line in the pilot—"Fuck Batman"—was a late addition to the script.[46] Thwaites said of the line: "I thought it was perfect... This is not a show about Batman. It's a show about Dick".[46]
Filming for the first season began on November 15, 2017, in Toronto, and Hamilton, Ontario,[91][92] and concluded on June 28, 2018.[93] Filming for the second season began on April 2, 2019,[94] and concluded on October 8 the same year.[95] Production was put on hold due to the July accidental death of special effects coordinator Warren Appleby before resuming.[55][56] After being delayed by theCOVID-19 pandemic, filming for the third season began on October 13, 2020, and concluded on June 15, 2021.[96][97][98] Filming for the fourth season began on February 28, 2022, and concluded on September 30.[99][100]
The first episode was screened atNew York Comic Con on October 3, 2018, withTitans debuting on October 12 on theDC Universe subscription streaming service.[49] The first season comprised eleven episodes,[50] and each episode was released weekly on DC Universe until the season finale aired on December 21.[101] Outside the United States, the first season became available for streaming viaNetflix on January 11, 2019.[102][103] The first season was rebroadcast byTNT, beginning on July 12, 2021.[104]
The second season premiered on September 6, 2019, and concluded on November 29, comprising 13 episodes.[105] Outside the United States, the second season became available for streaming viaNetflix on January 10, 2020.[106]
The third season premiered onHBO Max on August 12, 2021.[107][108] Outside the United States, season 3 arrived onNetflix on December 8 the same year.[109]
The fourth season premiered on November 3, 2022.[110] It included 12 episodes.[111][36] The series finale aired on May 11, 2023.[112] Netflix released season four in the rest of the world in June, although for the first week, the episodes 7 and 9 were swapped around.
The first season ofTitans was released digitally on March 21, 2019,[113] and on DVD and Blu-Ray on July 16.[114] The second season was released digitally and on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 3, 2020.[115] The third season was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on October 25, 2022. The fourth season and complete series were both released on DVD on October 17, 2023, in addition to a manufacture on demand Blu-ray of the fourth season fromWarner Archive Collection.
OnRotten Tomatoes, the first season ofTitans holds an approval rating of 78%, with an average rating of 6.7 out of 10 based on 46 reviews. The site's critical consensus states: "Despite a few tonal growing pains,Titans does justice to its source material and truly shines when its titular ensemble finally assembles".[116]Metacritic gave the series' first season a score of 55 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[117]
Susana Polo ofPolygon praisedTitans for "tempering brutal violence and dark subject matter with humor—and by giving its characters plenty of time to stretch, breathe and become attached to one another".[121] Charlie Ridgely ofComicBook.com wrote that Diop "conveys so much wonder and intrigue with her subtle and genuine expressions, but there is a consistent fierceness and tenacity that is always lurking just beneath the surface".[122] Rosie Knight ofNerdist wrote that the "cast is at the core of what makesTitans so enjoyable", while giving praise to the script as well.[123]Forbes contributor Merrill Barr compared the show toThe CW'sRiverdale, describing it as "a dark and gritty series very far removed from the image the Teen Titans have garnered through a variety of animated outings over the last decade". Barr found that viewers "that take the tone in stride are going to find themselves in the middle of a series dialed directly into their interests".[124] Rob Salkowitz ofForbes wrote thatTitans "somehow managed to deliver on the dark-and-foreboding tone that the early DC movies so conspicuously got wrong".[125]
Kevin Yeoman ofScreen Rant was critical of the show's excessive violence, writing thatTitans "doesn't put forward any new or particularly compelling thoughts about its characters or about superheroes in general".[126] Similarly, Vinnie Mancuso ofCollider said that "if you're just a fan of some good old-fashioned ultra-violence and moody storytelling, this simply isn't a well-done example of that".[127]
The second season holds an 81% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 21 reviews. Its critical consensus reads: "ThoughTitans's sophomore season suffers from a slight slump at the start, it quickly resets itself, building on the momentum from its first season while laying fascinating framework for where the show could go".[118]
The third season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.2 out of 10, based on 22 reviews. Its critical consensus reads: "With bolder storytelling and deeper characterization, Titans' third season hits the show's sweet spot to deliver the best season yet".[119]
The fourth season has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.6 out of 10, based on 6 reviews.[120]
In May 2018, DC Universe announced the live-action seriesDoom Patrol as an intended spin-off toTitans. Despite the initial order and sharing characters and actors, however,Doom Patrol occupies a separate continuity.[132][133][134] Developed byJeremy Carver (who wrote the pilot) for Warner Bros. Television and Berlanti Productions, the series featuresthe Chief,Cliff Steele,Larry Trainor,Cyborg,Rita Farr, andJane as the members of eponymous Doom Patrol.April Bowlby,Matt Bomer, andBrendan Fraser reprise their roles as Rita, the voice of Larry, and the voice of Cliff, while Matthew Zuk and Riley Shanahan replaceDwain Murphy and Jake Michaels for the physical portrayals of Larry and Cliff[135] andTimothy Dalton replacesBruno Bichir as the Chief.[136] The cast was joined byDiane Guerrero as Jane andJoivan Wade as Cyborg. Production began in August the same year[137][138] and the series premiered on February 15, 2019.[139]
^abBurlingame, Russ (February 27, 2019)."Titans Casts Its Superboy".ComicBook.com.Archived from the original on February 27, 2019. RetrievedFebruary 27, 2019.
^White, Brett (January 7, 2016)."DC's Live-ActionTitans Series Not Moving Forward at TNT".Comic Book Resources.Archived from the original on November 6, 2016.TNT president Kevin Reilly revealed that production on the long in-development drama series based on DC'sTeen Titans property has been stopped.
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