The third season of Titans recently began shooting, and the show is already reported to have been renewed for another year on HBO Max. We’ve been hearing some fascinating things about it, too, most notably that Jason Todd will become Red Hood. And while it didn’t initially seem likely that Titans would incorporate Jason’s death by the Joker from the established comics mythology, it now seems as if series will be getting its own version of the Clown Prince of Crime, and that he’ll turn up soon to kill Todd.
The news comes from insider Daniel Richtman, who’s been pretty on the money in recent months about updates on forthcoming productions. For Titans to introduce the Joker, after teasing Batman and eventually featuring Iain Glen’s Bruce Wayne, would be a major move for DC, especially considering how strict they tend to be with core characters appearing on television. It’s worth pointing out, though, that Mr. J has often been the exception to this rule since the days of the live-action 1960s Batman, albeit with his appearances being more oblique than other familiar faces.
Perhaps the best modern example of this trend is Joker turning up in various incarnations in Gotham, which muddied the waters by leaving open-ended questions over who was the canonical character. We’ve also had some references to the villain in Batwoman, and brief cameos in Birds of Prey and Powerless. In addition, the Joker was previously referenced in Titans as having been murdered by Batman in a reality created by Trigon. Whether this fresh take on the antagonist will draw from existing material, or be a whole new creation, is currently unknown, but here’s what Richtman shared:
Titans will have it’s own version of Joker and he will kill Jason.
It remains to be seen, then, whether Titans will choose to tackle the “A Death in the Family” storyline and the dominant role of the Joker, or will turn Jason into Red Hood and then have him die. However events shake out, we’d be surprised if the show doesn’t make the most of being able to use the Clown Prince of Crime.
In any case, with Dick Grayson taking up his role as Nightwing, Batgirl joining the cast and Iain Glen confirmed to be returning as Bruce Wayne, it does appear that we’ll be getting much more of the Batman mythos in the next instalment of Titans, and for fans, that can only be a good thing.
