Titans Reportedly Looking For African-American Actor To Play Tim Drake

Titans season 3 is in production now, and we’ve already got one big tease for how the new run is going to move the young heroes’ stories ahead. This week, our first look at Curran Walters in costume as Red Hood was revealed. With Dick Grayson now Nightwing and Jason Todd as Red Hood, Batman will need to get himself a new Robin. Enter Tim Drake, who it’s believed the HBO Max (formally DC Universe) show is currently casting for.

In contrast to their castings for most of the Titans, though, producers are thought to be looking to switch up Tim’s ethnicity from the comics in order to better comment on our times. Earlier this year, a leaked casting call pointed to South-East Asian actors being looked at for the role of the third Robin. The Vulcan Reporter is now claiming, though, that the summer has changed the team’s plans in a big way and they’re currently focusing on hiring an African-American performer for the part.

TVR’s sources say that the producers have been inspired to go in this direction following the Black Lives Matter movement, which took off in the hiatus between seasons 2 and 3. Warner Bros. Television is said to still be open to casting an actor from any ethnicity in the role if they make a big enough impression, but they’re apparently primarily searching for a young black actor to take on Robin’s domino mask and cape.

The previously revealed character description labels Drake as “a youth who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks” but “never lost his belief in heroism.” He has a “laid-back persona” but “a near-genius intellect” and possesses “innate detective skills” with a precocious “perception for detail.” Despite his “rough upbringing,” he’s “motivated” to “do good in the world instead of dwelling in the pain and tragedy.”

Like Jason Todd before him, Titans will mark the live-action debut of Tim Drake. Look out for him in the third season of the series, which hits HBO Max in spring 2021.