The Teen Titans Movie Could Bring A Huge DC Villain Back To Live-Action
James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe continues to expand with the announcement that a live-action "Teen Titans" movie is in development at Warner Bros. and DC Studios. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ana Nogueira, who is already writing "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" for the DCU, will pen the script for the young team's first-ever live-action theatrical outing. The film comes hot on the heels of Max's "Titans" series, which put a darker, grittier spin on the squad and earned great reviews over a four-season run. Due to that show's success, some feel that Gunn's DCU needs to embrace "Titans" in its own depiction of the teenage heroes.
As reported by The Trailblazer, the latest issue of Production Weekly includes a supposed synopsis for the upcoming film pulled straight from 2016's "Teen Titans Vol. 1: Damian Knows Best." That logline reads as follows: "The Teen Titans are further apart than ever before ... until Damian Wayne recruits Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and the new Kid Flash to join him in a fight against his own grandfather, Ra's al Ghul."
Because this description is taken verbatim from an existing comic, it's extremely unlikely that it's exactly right. However, the Production Weekly report may indicate the general angle of the new "Teen Titans" movie. If so, we might see Ra's al Ghul return to live action for the first time since Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" in 2005.
A new live-action Ra's al Ghul could look very different
The last time Ra's al Ghul appeared on the big screen in live-action, he was played by Liam Neeson. Despite its immense cultural impact, a growing number of fans seem to feel that the Dark Knight trilogy is overrated, and part of the reason why is that Christopher Nolan's Batman movies aren't the most comics-accurate adaptations out there. They're more interested in assimilating comic book ideas into a contemporary crime thriller framework. That helped them find a wide audience, but it also alienated some die-hard fans.
Ra's al Ghul is one such example. While Neeson is a fantastic actor who delivers a great performance in "Batman Begins," his version of the classic Batman villain isn't what comic book fans might have expected. The magic is quite literally gone from the character, he's exceedingly white, and, of course, there's the neverending debate over how to pronounce the name.
The DCU seems to be taking a much more colorful, comics-friendly approach to its material, so if Ra's winds up being the villain of the "Teen Titans" movie, he'll probably be much closer to what longtime DC readers would want.
How Ra's al Ghul could tie into Batman's DCU story
Before we see the upcoming "Teen Titans" movie, we'll get "Batman: The Brave and the Bold," a new incarnation of Gotham and the Caped Crusader. This adaptation will coexist with the Robert Pattinson Batman films, which exist in a different continuity from the DCU. Not much has been revealed about "The Brave and the Bold," but we do know that it pulls from Grant Morrison's "Batman and Son" comic run, which focuses on Bruce Wayne's relationship with his son, Damian. Of course, Damian also happens to be the son of Talia al Ghul and the grandson of Ra's. Morrison's arc deals heavily with these characters and the League of Assassins as a whole.
With that in mind, it would make a lot of sense for Ra's and Damian to play major roles in the "Teen Titans" movie. Damian could be introduced in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold," which may be less grimdark than other Dark Knight adaptations, and set up by the end to round up the Titans for a battle against Ra's.
It will likely be years before we even get "The Brave and the Bold," as Pattinson and Matt Reeves' "The Batman Part II" was delayed to 2026. Warner Bros. will probably want some distance between the two films, and "Teen Titans" wouldn't be coming until even later, most likely. Still, it's fun to speculate, and a live-action return for Ra's al Ghul seems to be in the cards.