DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures have been criticized for making their live-action superhero movies too dark and angsty, but that doesn’t appear to have changed their approach toTitans, the upcoming streaming series based on DC Comics’ teen superheroesThe Teen Titans.
Thefirst trailerforTitansdebuted duringComic-Con, and among other grim and gritty moments, it features Robin telling the world how he really feels about his former partner, Batman.
Set to debut on DC Entertainment’s new, subscription-based streaming video service DC Universe,TitanscastsBrenton Thwaites(Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) as Dick Grayson, aka Robin. The cast of teenage superheroes is filled out by Teagan Croft (Home and Away) as Raven, Anna Diop (24: Legacy) as the alien Koriand’r, a.k.a. Starfire, Alan Ritchson (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as Hawk, and Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) as Dove. Supporting cast members include Bruno Bichir as Dr. Niles Caulder, and Lindsey Gort as Police Detective Amy Rohrbach.
Although the price for DC Universe certainly makes it competitive with more established platforms like Netflix and Hulu, it remains to be seen whether access to even more grim and gritty versions of DC Comics heroes and villains can command an additional monthly or annual financial investment from fans.
In DC Comics continuity, the Teen Titans were a group of teenage heroes largely composed of sidekicks to more prominent characters like Batman, Green Arrow, and Flash. The series was a popular one and was celebrated for the way it balanced real-world issues for teenagers with the trials and tribulations of fighting super-powered villains. The Teen Titans’ adventures were typically lighthearted events but occasionally delved into more serious subject matter.
