Skip to main content

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

Brenton Thwaites Dick Grayson Robin Titans
Image used with permission by copyright holder
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 Digital Trends Contributor
Nick is a Portland native and a graduate of Saint Mary's College of California with a Bachelor's of Communication. Nick's…
Everything coming to PBS in November 2024
Rachel Shenton and Nicholas Ralph in All Creatures Great and Small.

There are no new British dramas premiering on PBS in November, but there's more than enough programming to see you through the penultimate month of 2024. Ken Burns is premiering his new documentary, Leonardo da Vinci, about the world's most famous Renaissance man, artist, and inventor. And PBS has several other documentary and nature programs slated to run throughout the month.

PBS' non-partisan coverage of the 2024 presidential election will culminate on Tuesday, November 5. But if you're really missing your British dramas, there are encore presentations of All Creatures Great & Small and Call the Midwife coming as well.

Read more
What’s new on Amazon Prime Video in November 2024
A man stands in front of a caution sign.

James Patterson's Alex Cross character is getting a third chance in live-action this month on Amazon Prime Video. Morgan Freeman and Tyler Perry have previously portrayed the titular detective character. Now, Black Adam's Aldis Hodge steps into the role. The new Cross series is Prime Video's biggest debut in November, but far from the only noteworthy addition. There are a lot of new additions to the streamer's movie lineup, including The Godfather trilogy, Silver Linings Playbook, and the unconventional vampire film Abigail.

Additionally, Prime Video is rebooting Cruel Intentions as a drama series, which has the potential to be another big hit for the streamer. And aside from Die Hard, there are only a handful of Christmas titles coming this month. We can appreciate a little restraint, especially since December will likely be a very different story.

Read more
What’s new on Disney+ in November 2024
A masked Ryan Reynolds covers his mouth as Hugh Jackman glowers in a still from the movie "Deadpool & Wolverine."

Thanks to Disney's big summer at the box office, Disney+ gets to bring home the second-highest-grossing movie of the year in November. Deadpool & Wolverine is making its streaming debut on November 12, but it's not the only noteworthy new addition to Disney+. If you've ever loved the Star Wars and Indiana Jones themes of John Williams, then you should watch the new documentary Music By John Williams, which is available on Disney+ as of November 1.

A really charming Christmas-related animated short, An Almost Christmas Story, is arriving on November 15, while Beatles '64 adds yet another Beatlemania documentary to Disney+ on November 29. On that same date, Disney is also celebrating the 60th anniversary of Mary Poppins this month by releasing a special documentary about one of Walt Disney's personal favorite films. And finally, Disney gets to capitalize on the release of Wicked by bringing Oz the Great and Powerful to Disney+ near the end of November.

Read more