Greg Berlanti strikes again! The mastermind behind ‘Arrow’, ‘The Flash’, ‘Supergirl’ and ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ is adapting another DC property, but this one won’t be on The CW. His newest project is ‘Titans’ which centers on Dick Grayson, formerly Batman’s sidekick Robin, as he matures into his own man and steps out from the shadow of the Bat. In addition to Grayson (now known in the comics as Nightwing), the only other characters specifically named were Starfire and Raven.
Titans follows a group of young soon-to-be superheroes recruited from every corner of the DC Universe. The series centers on Dick Grayson (aka Robin of Batman and Robin) as he emerges from the shadows to become the leader of a fearless band of new heroes, including Starfire, Raven and many others. The series is an adaptation of the comic book series, which launched in the early ’60s.
‘Titans’ will be one of the featured programs on Warner Bros. Digital Network, a new streaming service that will launch next year. It will also be the home to ‘Young Justice: Outsiders‘ the continuation of the beloved animated series that was cancelled in 2013, which coincidentally also features Dick Grayson as one of its main characters, originally as Robin, then Nightwing.
In addition to Berlanti, ‘Titans’ will be executive produced by Akiva Goldsman, DC Entertainment president and chief creative officer Geoff Johns and Sarah Schechter. Goldsman, Johns and Berlanti are handling scripting duties.
Goldsman and Marc Haimes were previously attached to a ‘Titans’ project for TNT, which reportedly would have starred Grayson, Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle), Starfire, Raven and Hawk & Dove.
In the comics, the Teen Titans originally consisted of sidekicks, Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl and Speedy. In the early 80s, the team was rebooted with fresh new characters Starfire, Cyborg and Raven as well as Beast Boy who was rechristened Changeling, but has since gone back to his first name. It was this version of the team that was featured on the hit cartoon series ‘Teen Titans’ and ‘Teen Titans GO!’ Another, amalgamated version of the team was recently featured in the direct-to-DVD animated movies ‘Justice League Vs. Teen Titans’ and ‘Teen Titans: The Judas Contract’.
It’s speculated that this streaming service could also become the home of ‘Black Lightning’ which has been in development with Berlanti and Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil. A pilot has been filmed for this series but its eventual home has always been a question mark, with The CW’s Mark Pedowitz saying that the network wouldn’t be adding any additional DC shows to its lineup.
Warner Bros. Digital Network, unfortunately, joins an already packed selection of streaming services including Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. The BBC and CBS are also launching new streaming services. CBS All Access will be the exclusive home to ‘Star Trek Discovery’. It seems if fans want to catch all of their favorite shows, they are going to have to shell out a lot of pocket change.
Are you excited that Dick Grayson and the ‘Titans’ will be coming to life in the small screen after all? Or are you upset that it will require you to subscribe to yet another service?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
