Simply after the hiring of James Gunn and Peter Safran as co-heads of DC Movies, it was introduced that DC can be telling a protracted type, MCU-style story throughout its movies, tv exhibits, and different media. This may kick off with a Young Superman film, written by Gunn. If the New DCU is trying to flesh out its characters, its world, and its historical past, all whereas nonetheless taking part in to audiences’ pursuits, there’s maybe no higher staff to take to the large display than the Teen Titans.
Model Attraction
Even placing apart the artistic alternatives {that a} Teen Titans film would have on an interconnected slate, the success of earlier iterations of the staff makes a compelling argument that audiences would have an interest.
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“The Teen Titans” have been created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani for the Sixties DC Comics anthology, The Courageous and The Daring, that includes a line-up of superhero sidekicks together with Robin and Child Flash. However the staff reached the peak of recognition within the Eighties with “The New Teen Titans” by George Perez and Marv Wolfman, which featured solid members like Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven. “The New Teen Titans” served as the premise for the cult-classic, anime-inspired Teen Titans animated collection that aired on Cartoon Community from 2003-2006. Over a decade after its cancelation, the animated Teen Titans collection was rebooted right into a extra comedic animated collection, Teen Titans GO!, which stored the identical solid of characters, however with a extra cartoonish artwork type. Whereas initially met with trepidation from followers, Teen Titans GO! ultimately introduced the staff to new heights.
It’s typically neglected how profitable Teen Titans GO! has been each as a DC adaptation, and as an introduction to the solid of younger heroes. The Cartoon Community present has been on the air since 2013, and expanded into function movies with Teen Titans Go! To the Films, which was a vital and monetary darling, incomes over double its finances. Suffice to say, there’s a wide-ranging viewers that’s already acquainted with the staff, whether or not it’s from its decades-long publication historical past, or latest animated successes.
Charting The Previous
Artwork by George Perez
The place most superhero groups might be fashioned from the ground-up, the mere presence of the Teen Titans necessitates a extra lived-in historical past for the DCU. Fairly than ranging from scratch, the Teen Titans construct themselves off of a line-up of pre-established, “older” heroes. Of their unique iteration, the staff was composed solely of superhero sidekicks, arriving solely 4 years after the Justice League’s first look. This sidekick-heavy lineup was additionally an inspiration for the beginning staff for the Cartoon Community/HBO Max collection Young Justice. Even with out extra direct superhero lineage, the New Teen Titans line-up set themselves aside as youthful heroes, contrasting in opposition to adult-aged adventures of the Justice League.
Marvel Studios has made a behavior of rewriting its personal previous with the intention to introduce characters with deeper ties to the origins of its interconnected universe. Teen Titans would fill up to now of the DCU with their introduction, establishing a lineage of heroes that has reached its newest type with the Teen Titans. If the New DCU is trying to “catch up” to Marvel Studios by way of established characters, it might profit from a staff that propels your entire timeline ahead, previous the genesis of the unique Justice League lineup and right into a vibrant, populated universe.
Constructing Legacy
Artwork by Patrick Gleason
Not solely does the existence of the Teen Titans set up a storied previous for the DC Universe, it additionally units up the way forward for DC as effectively. The place Marvel Comics has typically featured the identical ageless heroes in shifting standing quos, DC Comics stands aside as extra legacy-focused, seeing characters age and tackle new roles. Wally West, maybe the best-known character as The Flash, is definitely the third individual to tackle the mantle. If Robin is included within the line-up for a Teen Titans film, DC would even have its decide of which Robin, because the moniker has been taken on by quite a few characters, together with Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne, all of whom turned Batman sooner or later. Identical goes for Superboy, who, relying on who holds the title, is both a clone of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor, or the organic son of Superman and Lois Lane. The youthful ages of the characters signify a possible for development, or change, one thing the Teen Titans are well-known for. Dick Grayson is arguably simply as effectively often known as Nightwing as he’s as Robin. Your complete staff was even renamed when the founding members acquired older, shifting into the adjective-less “Titans”.
Whereas comedian characters don’t age with no creator’s alternative, actual actors age it doesn’t matter what, and ultimately depart their roles. Whereas Marvel Studios is simply now introducing youthful characters which might be adjoining to members of the Avengers, DC Movies may get forward of this pattern by introducing the hopeful successors of the Justice League early. From a planning standpoint, Warner Bros may signal youthful actors that might play their characters effectively into maturity. This may not solely lend itself to a extra pure passing of the torch, but additionally let the Teen Titans instantly work together with their mentors.
With a Teen Titans Film, DC Movies has the chance to capitalize on the staff’s widespread recognition, construct the previous of their new interconnected universe, and set their sights on the way forward for superhero filmmaking, all on the identical time.