A two-year-old petition to revive the 2003-06 ‘Teen Titans’ cartoon has suddenly gained traction again. The petition was created around the time that ‘Teen Titans’ was released on Blu-Ray.
It’s unclear why it has suddenly started circulating again on social media, but it has. It’s possible that interest has been spurred by the revival of ‘Young Justice’ on DC Universe, or just the continued trend of old TV shows getting revived for new seasons many years (even decades) after they ended. Or it could just be the general wave of nostalgia that has come from the release of Disney+, which carries a lot of other cult-favorite animated shows like ‘Gargoyles’ and ‘X-Men: Evolution’.
The original petition called for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim to revive the program, but ‘Teen Titans’ wasn’t an adult show. It was made for kids. It’s just now those kids are adults, so maybe that’s where their heads are. (The petition cites the revival of ‘Samurai Jack’ which was revived thanks to Adult Swim’s Toonami block.)
In 2013, the characters were revived for ‘Teen Titans GO!’ with the original voice actors, but that show is even more juvenile than the original and doesn’t resonate with older viewers. Nevertheless, it’s a huge hit with its target audience of children.
Last year, ‘Teen Titans GO! To the Movies’ hit theaters and a post-credits scene teased the return of the previous ‘Teen Titans’. Fans wondered if this meant that the show was being revived, but turns out that the older version of Titans appeared in a film alongside the ‘GO!’ incarnation in the direct-to-video movie ‘Teen Titans GO! Vs. Teen Titans’. That was released in June.
It’s likely that Warner Brothers was monitoring those sales to determine whether there was a demand for the return of the first version of ‘Teen Titans’. So far there hasn’t been any mention of that show returning, so it’s possible that it didn’t sell well enough in WB’s eyes.
What’s ironic is that ‘Teen Titans’ got a chilly reception when it was first teased. Fans who were used to the Bruce Timm art style from ‘Batman: The Animated Series’ and the adult-targeted ‘Justice League/Unlimited’ hated the anime style, calling the series “Poké-Titans.” But over time, the show got deeper and more dramatic, earning a solid reputation as a high-quality show, despite its cartoony look.
It’s possible that WB could revive the older version of ‘Teen Titans’ on DC Universe, the way they did with ‘Young Justice’, but that may not be a great thing, because… well, that sucked.
In all honesty, ‘Teen Titans’ lasted 65 episodes which is massive compared to a lot of other series, and the show was wrapped up nicely, once again, in contrast with a lot of other shows, including ‘YJ’ which ended on a massive cliffhanger. (Which, btw, wasn’t really resolved on the DC Universe revival.)
The first ‘Teen Titans’ show is available on DC Universe. If you want to see new episodes, sign the petition found here.
Would you like to see new episodes of the older ‘Teen Titans’?
