All posts by Craig Byrne

Craig Byrne has been writing about comic book TV since 1995 with Lois & Clark. He is the author of five official companion books for the TV series Smallville.
News, Titans Spoilers, Video

It’s Here: The DC Universe Titans Trailer

After what feels like years of anticipation, the official trailer for the DC Universe original series Titans is here!

The trailer launch comes at the same time DC is having what we hear is an impressive DC Universe installation/display at the Comic-Con International in San Diego. Note the TV-MA warning – there’s an F-bomb and some serious violence within the trailer, but that’s only the start – check it out: Raven looks comics-perfect, Beast Boy is green, and Starfire is fiery! We can’t wait.

See some screen captures from the new Titans trailer at our general TV news site, KSiteTV!

Brenton Thwaites plays Dick Grayson/Robin, and the series also stars Teagan Croft, Anna Diop, Ryan Potter and many others. Here’s how they describe it:

Titans follows young heroes from across the DC Universe as they come of age and find belonging in a gritty take on the classic Teen Titans franchise. Dick Grayson and Rachel Roth, a special young girl possessed by a strange darkness, get embroiled in a conspiracy that could bring Hell on Earth. Joining them along the way are the hot-headed Starfire and loveable Beast Boy. Together they become a surrogate family and team of heroes.

DC Universe is now open for registration at DCUniverse.com. It’s looking like it’s $74.99 for a year’s membership, which will include several original series, comics, and DC favorites; that may sound pricey but it averages to less than $7 per month — less than the cost of two comic books!

Follow @TitansTV for all your Titans needs!

News, Titans Spoilers, Video

The DC Universe Titans Trailer Is Almost Here!

Those at the Comic-Con International in San Diego today spotted some big news – a Titans trailer is finally headed our way!

The trailer is set to drop Thursday, July 19 at 6AM PT. Yes, you read that right; so all of us journalists on the West Coast are going to be up early!

Also at the DC Universe installation have been official first looks at Dick Grayson, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy. No, we are assuming those aren’t the final costumes. You can see photos of both below.

For more Titans updates visit our account @TitansTV on Twitter — we’re also on Facebook!

Titans: Dick Grayson & Raven

◄ Back
Picture 1 of 2

News, Titans Spoilers

Geoff Johns Talks Titans

The Comic-Con special issue of TV Guide Magazine is now hitting newsstands, and in it, Geoff Johns talks a bit about what makes Titans so special.

“I think the reason Teen Titans has been so great is it’s a surrogate family of superhumans,” Johns said in the magazine. “There are a lot of super hero television shows and films out there, and we wanted to do something different — something that would be in the spirit of what the Teen Titans first did in the ’80s, taking these different characters from different walks of life and having them crash together to become a surrogate family. Then from there it deviates drastically. We’re telling the story in a very different way.”

Regarding Brenton Thwaites’ Dick Grayson a.k.a. Robin, “he’s left Gotham City and he’s left Batman.”

“He feels like he was made into a weapon and he’s trying to get away from [fighting crime]. Things draw him back in, and he’s struggling,” Johns explained. He also revealed that the series will tell a lot about the early journey of Rachel Roth (Teagan Croft), a.k.a. Raven.

“Rachel is very young. She’s 13 years old and manifesting some strange abilities,” Johns told TV Guide, noting some parallels between Bruce Wayne’s taking in of Dick Grayson and Dick’s interactions with Rachel.

Each member of the team will offer something special to this series.

“Rachel is a doorway to horror and the supernatural. Starfire is a doorwat to sci-fi, Beast Boy is a door to the Doom Patrol, and Robin’s a doorway to the vigilantes of the DC Universe,” Johns said, promising Titans is “more adult than any other DC superhero show by a pretty wide margin.”

“Each of the characters has individual arcs and storylines. It’s not a villain-of-the-week type of show. This is a 13-hour movie,” he said.

You can pick up the Comic-Con issue of TV Guide Magazine, complete with more quotes and details about the other DC Universe programs, this week at newsstands or at Comic-Con itself!

Titans is coming to the DC Universe platform later in 2018.

Doom Patrol, News

DC Universe Installation Planned For Comic-Con 2018

DC has announced that a DC Universe installation which will of course feature Titans and Doom Patrol that will be at this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Here’s the press release with more details:

DC ORIGINAL SERIES, DC CLASSIC FILMS & TV SERIES, AND DC COMICS TAKE CENTER STAGE AT MASSIVE FAN EXPERIENCE COMING TO COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: SAN DIEGO 2018

#DCUxSDCC July 19-22, 2018

Pre-Registration is open now at DCUniverseExperience.com

DC UNIVERSE, a first-of-its-kind digital subscription service designed especially for DC fans, will come to life with over half a dozen immersive, interactive experiences at Comic-Con International. Fans will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the DC Universe for the first time and literally walk through the originals, classics and comics soon to be available through the digital service.

Open for four days only Thursday, July 19 to Sunday, July 22, a larger-than-life installation of epic proportions will welcome fans into interactive spaces that bring iconic characters and stories to life.

Register now at DCUniverseExperience.com.  After registering, fans will head to the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter, directly across the street from the San Diego Convention Center. Guests of the activation will interact with dozens of activities and installations including:

  • Explore Dick Grayson’s Titans loft and uncover clues to his whereabouts
  • Experience the mysterious creations of Dr. Niles Caulder in the Doom Patrol lab
  • Avoid succumbing to the deadly virus in the mystical swamps of Swamp Thing
  • Join earth’s newest superhero team in the Young Justice Watchtower
  • Create mayhem in the Harley Quinn chaos room
  • Step into the sewers with Batman and descend into madness in The Court of Owls
  • Enjoy the first public unveiling of rare artwork and memorabilia only previously seen in exclusive engagements
  • Discover hidden clues and get an exclusive first-look at the DC UNIVERSE digital subscription service
  • And so much more…

Signing up online in advance allows guests to streamline the onsite admission process. Pre-registration does not allow guests to reserve their spot or bypass the line. The activation will be open on a first-come, first-served basis.

Important Details

Dates of operation: Thursday – Sunday, July 19 – 22, 2018

Hours of operation: Thursday – Saturday hours: 9:30 AM – 7:00 PM (line closes at 6:00 PM), Sunday hours: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM (line closes at 4:00 PM)    

Location: Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter, 401 K Street, San Diego, CA 92101

Pre-registration link: DCUniverseExperience.com

Warner Bros. Digital Networks and DC Entertainment tapped Giant Spoon, the creative agency behind the successful “Westworld” activation at SXSW 2018. The partnership will bring decades of artistry and innovative new content being developed exclusively for DC UNIVERSE to life.

DC UNIVERSE will be available in Fall 2018 as a direct-to-consumer digital service. Fans who sign up for memberships will enjoy new original live-action and animated series, classic TV series and films, a curated selection of comic books, breaking news, an expansive encyclopedia, and access to exclusive merchandise. Additional fan features include opportunities to connect with others in the DC community, earn premium rewards, and participate in sweepstakes and contests.

Follow the excitement online at #DCUxSDCC and visit DCUniverseExperience.com to pre-register now.

News, Titans Spoilers

Titans: More Season 1 Episode Titles Revealed

Earlier, we got our first hints that Jason Todd was coming to DC Universe’s live-action Titans by way of an episode actually being called “Jason Todd” — now, more titles completing the first season of the show have surfaced.

First, here are the titles that we had known so far, with each episode title referencing a character:

#1.1 “Titans” (Pilot)
#1.2 “Hawk and Dove”
#1.3 “Starfire”
#1.4 “Rachel”
#1.5 “The Doom Patrol”
#1.6 “The Messenger”
#1.7 “Jason Todd”
#1.8 “Angela”
#1.9 “Donna Troy”

And now, some more, which actually reference the alter egos of certain characters:

#1.10 “Hank and Dawn”
#1.11 “Koriand’r”
#1.12 “Dick Grayson”
#1.13 (Season Finale) “Raven”

Gives us a lot to think about, right? Come talk about these titles on our Titans discussion forum!

Thanks to Queen FeFe for the tip.

Doom Patrol, Doom Patrol Spoilers

Doom Patrol: Casting Breakdown For Crazy Jane

Doom Patrol is a spin-off of Titans that is also coming to the DC Universe streaming service, and we’ll be covering DP news here at TitansTV in the future as it comes closer.

Today, That Hashtag Show has details about the role of “Crazy Jane” which is being cast for the Doom Patrol series. The character first saw her introduction in the comics in Grant Morrison’s run as writer of the title.

In any event, they got a hold of a casting breakdown, and this is what Doom Patrol is looking for to play Kay Challis a.k.a. Crazy Jane:

Created by Grant Morrison and Richard Case, Crazy Jane first appeared in the DC Comics world in February 1989. Debuting in #19 of Doom Patrol Volume 2, Crazy Jane has been a famous member of the group ever since. She suffers from multiple personality disorder which was caused by the Dominator gene bomb which she was exposed to in the famous Invasion! storyline. Because of that event, all of her 64 personalities have their individual super ability.

Doom Patrol is headed to the DC Universe streaming service in 2019. You can get Doom Patrol updates @DoomPatrolTV on Twitter!

Images, News

Brenton Thwaites’ Titans Wrap Gift Revealed

As Titans wrapped its first season, Brenton Thwaites gifted the other members of his show’s cast and crew with a “Dick Pick” – a guitar pick from himself, the actor playing Dick Grayson. The classic Titans logo from the Marv Wolfman and George Perez era is printed on it.

He also included a note with the show’s logo and a poem.

Titans is due to hit the DC Universe service later in 2018. Follow @TitansTV on Twitter to keep up with show updates!

 

News

Titans: DC Universe Launch Date & New Photos

The DC Universe made some big announcements yesterday, many of which you can find on our general TV news site, KSiteTV, but even more than that… they released some new photos of Brenton Thwaites as Robin in Titans, including a full body shot!

Thwaites himself posted a photo on Instagram which you can find in the gallery below. In the photo, he mentioned “that’s a wrap on Titans” for Season 1… if that is a photo from the end of the season, does that imply Dick Grayson is Robin for the entire year?

Also announced is that Titans is due to come our way later this year! Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing will be headed our way in 2019.

Our apologies for not posting about this on TitansTV yesterday; there were some personal issues that kept webmaster Craig away from the computer for most of the afternoon. As always, though, the first place you can look for Titans information is our @TitansTV Twitter account.

See the DC Universe launch trailer and read more about the service here!

newrobinpic

◄ Back
Picture 1 of 3

News

DC Universe May Launch In Late August; Might This Be The Titans Premiere Date?

Here at TitansTV we have a lot of “may” and “might” and “could” in our headlines, and we’re sorry for that. Since it is part of a streaming service (DC Universe) that is brand new, a lot of the studio’s plans are being held close to the vest. However…. some good news may have come in the form of a podcast interview!

DC Entertainment community manager Dani Snow appeared on the “James Bonding” podcast and in the process of it all, she mentioned that the DC Universe digital platform is targeting a “late August” launch for the service, which will be “a hub for all things DC,” including comics, movies, and TV shows old and new from the DC library.

The remaining question, of course, is will Titans be premiering with the launch, or will it be a soft launch? Obviously Titans premiering in August or whenever the service goes live would be a big “get” and a reason to get early adopters.

Right now, we don’t know anything for sure, though chances are very good that we will be hearing and seeing some very big things around the time of the Comic-Con International in San Diego in mid-July. Hopefully we’ll get some more official stills before then as well?

We shall see!

What we do know is that Titans and Young Justice: Outsiders will surely premiere before Swamp Thing or Doom Patrol which have not started filming yet. And we also know “The DC Universe” sounds pretty great and we can’t wait to hear more!

Follow @TitansTV on Twitter for more updates as they become available!

News, Titans Spoilers

Could We Be Getting Conner Kent (Superboy) On Titans?

Might a popular character from post-2000 Titans comics lore (as well as Young Justice) be headed to the live-action Titans series for the DC Universe streaming service?

That seems very likely considering a casting breakdown obtained by That Hashtag Show for Titans Episode 13 which will be the season finale.

Here’s how THS describes it:

Being referred to as “David”, he is a 20s-something Caucasian male with dark hair who would guest star in the 13th episode, which is the season 1 finale. “David” is described as a powerful individual who is merciless, so much so that he has recently unleashed chaos to the people who have been keeping “David” as a prisoner in a mysterious lab. When we find “David”, he will have recently have escaped this lab. Whoever we see in the role would have a series regular option for consecutive seasons of Titans.

Superboy famously escaped from a lab in his very first appearance way back around the “Reign of the Supermen” story in DC Comics.

If this indeed pans out to being the character who eventually took on the human name Conner Kent, it would be the second live-action version of the character, with the first being played by Lucas Grabeel in the final season of Smallville. In many versions of continuity Conner is a clone made from the DNA of both Superman and Lex Luthor – a notion, funny enough, first speculated by a young letter writer named Geoffrey Johns in an early Superboy comic book letters column.

Stay tuned to find out if more information becomes available — follow @TitansTV on Twitter for the latest DC Universe Titans updates!