Welcome back Cosmic Circus family as we continue our coverage of all the exciting news and interviews from New York Comic Con. The three-day event was an exciting way to get up close and personal with plenty of upcoming new and returning series and films, along with the individuals behind them. In a series of round table interviews, I was able to sit down with the stars and creatives behind the new Supernatural spin-off The Winchesters, as well as those involved with Star Trek: Prodigy, and HBO Max’s Titans.
During the series of interviews for Titans, I was able to speak with stars Brenton Thwaites (Dick Grayson/Nightwing), Ryan Potter (Gar/Beast Boy), and Joshua Orpin (Connor/Superboy). All three stars gave some juicy tidbits about what to expect from season 4 of the hit DC series, both on screen and behind the scenes. Their interviews are definitely not to be missed by fans of the series.
#nycc was an absolute blast ?
thanks to everyone who came out to our s.t.a.r labs booth and panel! season 4, part 1 premieres november 3 on @hbomax. pic.twitter.com/uGMH0iqamc
— DC Titans (@DCTitans) October 14, 2022
But the show would not be what it is without the individual for our last interview from the Titans set of round tables: showrunner and executive producer Greg Walker. The man behind the curtain gave us an idea of where Titans season 4 is taking the young heroes. So let’s jump into the highlights from our roundtable interview with Greg Walker.
[Note: Some quotes were edited for easier flow or clarity.]
A change of scenery for the Titans season 4
Right off the bat, Walker was asked what we can expect from the Titans when fans join them again. As pointed out by one of the interviewers, at the end of season 3, the Titans set off on another road trip, but where they were headed was rather unclear. Walker spoke about how every season of Titans is a journey, with new locales and issues with each stop.
“Every year has had a different locale and [season] one was really on the road, and we froze our tails off. But it was cool looking with ice and snow and we went to all these different places. Production didn’t love it. Season two was in San Francisco and we settled down. We had Titans tower. Season three, we took a big swing and went into the Bat-family and we went to Gotham and we, you know, exercised a lot of demons there. And then so we figured season four, let’s go on the road again, with a detour in Metropolis where instead of pursuing Demons, demons find us.”
It sounds like each city the Titans visit is reflective of the story they wish to tell. Naturally, if you end up in Gotham, a story about the Bat-family would be at the center of the season. According to Walker, the same holds true for coming to Metropolis, especially for Connor.
“So in kind of looking at Metropolis, obviously there, it’s interesting in terms of exploring Superboy’s story, in terms of an origin story for him in terms of finding out who his family is or who is not his family, in terms of finding out his parentage. You know, he has a dual DNA construction. So is he more like Lex Luthor? Is he more like Superman? To really put a spotlight on that growth for him and see which path he chose?”
Something that Titans does well is that it gives each superhero the time they truly deserve. The first two seasons had a large focus on the growth of Dick Grayson as he came out of Batman’s shadow. Last season saw personal growth for Starfire (Anna Diop) as she came into conflict with her sister.
Ryan Potter spoke on a larger, more personal arc for growth for Gar this season, part of which he helped develop. An arc that Walker described as less of an origin story and more of an unraveling, as Gar starts seeing himself in a new light. So it seems like both Connor and Gar will finally be getting their time in the sun.
Greg Walker speaks of switching tones in Titans season 4
One of the interviewers asked about the change of tone and color for the next season, after the first three seasons were shrouded in darkness with both story and appearance. Walker had this to say.
“This year, we had to bring in different colors and tones, going to Metropolis. It’s different than Gotham. You know, you don’t play darkness in the same way. But we do still find darkness there. It’s a good question because it really allows me to talk about one of the things I’m most excited about, is we make a real turn into horror this year, a real choice to go into darkness, and horror, supernatural. And when you bring in characters like Mother Mayhem and Brother Blood into the show, it opens the door to exploring the horrors, you know, so there’s a lot of blood, there’s a lot of effects, and the cinematography accounts for that.”
I love that his answer shows the duality of this season, which is also the comparison between Gotham and Metropolis. The latter is bright, filling people with hope whereas Gotham is dark and grimy. However, perhaps the part that got me the most excited is Walker’s acknowledgment that the horror and supernatural side of DC are super colorful, which means he’s tapping into and playing with colors in ways we haven’t seen in seasons before.
azarath. metrion. zinthos.
part 1 of season 4 premieres november 3rd on @hbomax. #DCTitans pic.twitter.com/ocIggEeRDL
— DC Titans (@DCTitans) October 9, 2022
Introducing Brother Blood…
When asked about how he made the decision for the villain for this season, Walker spoke about the importance of finding one who was both in the Titan’s world, but also able to challenge each hero in different ways. He stated,
“The challenge with Titans villains are you can’t have like, you know, jewel thieves and Bitcoin hackers, right? You need to have people who can fight the two or three aliens we have with superpowers, you have a master detective, and acrobat, and fight expert in Dick Grayson, a changeling… You have all these different characters, right? So it has to be someone who’s formidable and who has superpowers. And in that world, we really thought oh, Brother Blood’s the most interesting character and they’re somebody who can harness his own family, but has a different definition of what family means to fight ours.”
Sounds like he’s the perfect villain for our Titans! This season, if done correctly can be one of the best, but also the scariest. I’m looking forward to what comes next. As for the fifth season? According to Greg Walker during the interview, all we can do is pray for more, because the cast and crew want to continue on this journey for as long as possible.
Titans season 4 comes soon to HBO Max, beginning with a two-episode premiere on November third. More episodes to follow weekly with a second part made up of the final six episodes of the season expected sometime in 2023.
Are you excited about the journey Titans is planning on taking us on this season? Let us know what you’re excited about this season on social media! And if you haven’t already, check out our interview with Joshua Orpin from NYCC 2022!
NYCC Interview: Joshua Orpin on Titans Season 4
EXCLUSIVE: Curran Walters on His ‘Titans’ Future and a Red Hood Solo Project
