DC Comics and Greg Berlanti have found their Dick Grayson in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES' star Brenton Thwaites. As the spirited Boy Wonder and ward of Bruce Wayne, Grayson will lead a motley crew of heroes in TITANS, a straight-to-digital comic book drama series.
Fighting crime alongside Thwaites' Grayson will be Starfire (Anna Diop), Raven (Teagan Croft) and others who've yet to be cast. Together, the yet-to-be heroes will earn their salt as they take on all manners of evil that go bump in the dark alleys and abandoned factories of their fair city. Greg Berlanti, Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns and Sarah Schechter will executively produce the project for DC's new digital platform. And hey, if you need a refresher on who Dick Grayson is, you can check out our Everything You Need to Know: Nightwing feature written by yours truly.
In commenting on the character and his influence on the DC universe, comic book creative Geoff Johns remarked, "Dick Grayson is one of the most important and iconic heroes in the DC Universe, and it wasn't easy to find him but we have. Brenton has the emotional depth, heart, danger and physical presence of Batman's former protege and the Titans' future leader. We're extremely lucky he's chosen to bring his talents to this project and this character."
Well, this certainly is some cool news. Now that TITANS has found their fearless leader with the casting of Dick Grayson, it's only a matter of time before the rest of the team and their opposition are announced and filming on the series can begin. Personally, I'm very much looking forward to the launch of this show. Raven is one of my all-time favorite DC characters, and I can't wait to see her represented on the small screen. It's also to note that the TITANS series does not necessarily have to follow the Batman cannon to a tee. Oh sure, there will more than likely be plenty of recognizable staples, I'm sure, but there's also lots of room to play around.
For example, TITANS doesn't specifically need to take place in Gotham City. It's true, there's a slim chance that portions of the show might take place in Blüdhaven – a harbor town that Grayson's Nightwing persona has sworn to protect at more than one point in his career. I'm also looking forward to seeing what the character chemistry will be like on this show. After all, we've got a member of the Bat family mixing it up with an alien and a conjurer of chaos magic, so far! Here's hoping for exciting things from this upcoming series.
TITANS is scheduled to air via DC's planned digital service in 2018.