Skip to main content

Australian actor Brenton Thwaites tabbed as Robin in upcoming 'Titans'

In April, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment announced plans to launch a DC-branded, direct-to-consumer digital service in 2018. The platform will feature two series intially — first, a revival of the celebrated cartoon series Young Justice: Outsiders, and second, the live-action Titans, which follows a group of young soon-to-be-superheroes recruited from across the DC universe.

Over the past few months, DC has been filling out the cast for Titans, tabbing Anna Diop (24: Legacy) as Starfire and Teagan Croft (The Osiris Child) as Raven. On Thursday, Deadline reported the newest official addition to the team: Australian Brenton Thwaites (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), 28, who will take the role of Dick Grayson — better known as Robin, the team’s leader.

Recommended Videos

Thwaites and Croft have both appeared in the long-running Australian soap opera Home and Away, but Thwaites was on the show between 2011 and 2012, while Croft’s run was in 2016.

Like most superheroes, Grayson sports a tragic background story — his parents were circus acrobats murdered by a mob boss in the midst of an extortion scheme (though this varies, depending which comic you have read) — after which he was adopted by Bruce Wayne and groomed into a sidekick. In many timelines, the Grayson character eventually splits from Batman to take on the guise of Nightwing.

We don’t yet know whether Cyborg and Beast Boy will fill out the Titans roster, as they did in each of the popular animated series based on the group, which aired on Cartoon Network.

The series is produced by WB-DC bigwig Greg Berlanti, alongside Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Sarah Schechter, and Warner Bros. TV. In combination, the team has experience writing for several popular superhero shows, including The FlashArrow, and Supergirl, among others. Titans was originally ordered as a pilot in 2014 by TNT; at the time, Goldsman and Marc Haimes (Kubo and the Two Strings) were on board as lead writers. Due to some internal upheaval at TNT, the project was scrapped before its Warner Bros. revival.

Warner Bros. upcoming over-the-top (OTT) platform will be the second such service launched by the company, following the April debut of Boomerang, a $5 per month service for cartoon series like Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo.

Nick Hastings
Former Staff Writer, Home Theater
Nick is a Portland native and a graduate of Saint Mary's College of California with a Bachelor's of Communication. Nick's…
Death Valley is one of 3 great Britbox shows you should watch in July 2025
An old man and a young woman look at photos in Death Valley.

If you're tired of American television and the lack of sophistication that stems from many U.S. shows, BritBox might be the answer to your prayers. While it's true that Brits are inherently more sophisticated than their American counterparts, their TV tends to be a bit more refined.

If you have a BritBox subscription but aren't sure exactly what to do with it, we've got you covered. We've pulled together a list of three great shows that are the perfect entry point if you're looking for something great on BritBox:

Read more
Admit it — You still love Stranger Things, and the season 5 teaser trailer is awesome
A group of teens look down as one holds a chainsaw.

It's easy to poke fun at Stranger Things because of how long it's taken to reach the end. When season 5 concludes later this year, the Netflix series will have produced 42 episodes of television in just under 10 years. For comparison, The X-Files released roughly 200 episodes in under nine years. The pandemic and strikes are legitimate reasons for the delays, but the long hiatuses for Stranger Things have been frustrating for fans, to the point where some are questioning if they'll even care about the final season.

After watching the season 5 teaser trailer, all the feelings of resentment have been replaced with excitement. The teaser looks awesome, and I can't wait for the show's final run this fall.

Read more
Inception at 15 — Why the sci-fi thriller is Christopher Nolan’s best film
Bending buildings and the team from Christopher Nolan's film, Inception, in a promotional poster.

On July 16, 2010, writer-director Christopher Nolan released his groundbreaking sci-fi action film, Inception, to theaters around the world. Fresh off the blockbuster success of The Dark Knight, Nolan unleashed the unique story of Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he and his team of "extractors" are hired to enter a business heir's (Cillian Murphy) dreams and implant an idea into his subconscious, setting off a high-stakes journey through the dream world.

Inception continues to be one of Nolan's most popular and beloved motion pictures to date. Winning four Academy Awards and receiving nominations for four other Oscars, including the award for Best Picture, this action-packed, mind-bending heist film presented one of the most inventive blockbusters of the 21st century. While Nolan made many other incredible movies throughout his career, specifically Memento, The Dark Knight, Interstellar, Dunkirk, and Oppenheimer, there are many reasons why Inception surpasses them all 15 years after its premiere.

Read more