“Titans” is adding a major villain for its second season, bringing in Deathstroke, who will be played by Esai Morales.
Deathstroke, also known as Slade Wilson, has been a major antagonist in DC Comics. The character was briefly played in Warner Bros.’ “Justice League” by Joe Manganiello, who was expected to be the villain in Ben Affleck’s now-scrapped Batman solo film. Manu Bennett played the character in CW’s “Arrow.”
Deathstroke joins Superboy (aka Conner Kent) as the new characters joining “Titans” for season 2.
Slade Wilson is known for being DC’s deadliest assassin. While serving his country, Slade became an elite soldier before government testing enhanced his physiology to near superhuman levels, putting him on a path of darkness and revenge. To his family, Slade is a father and husband, but to the rest of the world, he is feared by many as the infamous Deathstroke; selling his services to the highest bidder as the ruthless assassin that never gives up and never misses.
“Titans” was the flagship series for the DC Comics-branded streaming service, which launched last August. The service’s second series, “Doom Patrol,” debuted earlier this month as DC Universe plans an expansive roster of TV shows based on fellow DC Comics characters including Stargirl, Swamp Thing and Harley Quinn.
“Titans” is based on “Teen Titans,” DC’s long-running young superheroes team that first banded together in 1964 on the pages of DC’s “The Brave and the Bold” in a story by writer Bob Haney and artist Bruno Premiani. Originally consisting of sidekicks Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash, the team got its own eponymous series in 1966 and has been rebooted several times since with a frequently-changing lineup. The DC Universe series is based in part on the 1980s incarnation of the team created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez. In addition to Raven and Robin, it will include Starfire and Beast Boy.
Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter are executive producers for the series from Weed Road Pictures and Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.