Young Justice Season 4 - What We Know So Far
Compared to other DC projects, Young Justice was a breath of fresh air. Instead of centering a new series on tried-and-true characters like Batman and Superman, the cartoon instead put their young protégés in the spotlight. While general audiences were familiar with the likes of Robin and Superboy, lesser-known comic book characters finally got a chance to shine like Miss Martian, Artemis, and Impulse. Sadly, low toy sales resulted in the superb series getting canceled after two seasons.
Fans didn't take it lying down, and as what tends to happen these days when a beloved show gets the axe, petitions soon started. Fans' demands were finally answered when it was revealed that the series would come back for season 3, this time on DC Universe as opposed to Cartoon Network. While it initially seemed like the purpose of season 3 would be to wrap up all loose ends from the original run, more questions were left unanswered, and shortly after the cartoon's return, it was announced season 4 was in the works, jumping platforms yet again and premiering exclusively on HBO Max with the subtitle Phantoms (via CBR).
Young Justice has shown so far that it isn't afraid to make some deep cuts in terms of what it draws from the comics, so there are any number of directions future episodes could go. Here's what we know so far about Young Justice season 4 that will make you feel very whelmed.
What's the release date for Young Justice season 4?
No official release date has been announced for when new episodes of Young Justice will start airing on HBO Max. It may seem like it's taking a while for the new season to get off the ground, but fans should remember there was a seven-year gap between seasons 2 and 3, so relatively speaking, this should go a lot quicker.
Things have only gotten pushed back even more as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though it's an animated show, the team behind the scenes still had to make some major changes for the production as co-creator Greg Weisman told CinemaBlend: "We're all working from home. And for the most part, when it comes to the pre-production, the script writing, the storyboards, design work, we've successfully transitioned to working at home. It's not quite as much fun to not be in the office and have everyone together, but we're doing it." As for now, a late 2021/early 2022 release date seems most likely.
Who's in the cast for Young Justice season 4?
As with any new season of Young Justice, there are bound to be more heroes and villains entering the fold. No new casting announcements have come out yet, likely to try to prevent fans from speculating on potential spoilers that could give away the plot. At the end of the day, it's a safe bet that the main cast of characters from past seasons will stick around.
That includes Dick Grayson/Robin/Nightwing (Jesse McCartney), Conner Kent/Superboy (Nolan North), M'gann M'orzz/Miss Martian (Danica McKellar), Kaldur'ahm/Aqualad (Khary Payton), and Artemis Crock/Tigress (Stephanie Lemelin). With each new season comes new members to the team, with season 3 paying particular focus to newcomers Prince Brion Markov/Geo-Force (Troy Baker), Violet Harper/Halo (Zehra Fazal), and Victor Stone/Cyborg (Zeno Robinson). DC Comics has a deep roster, so there are plenty of characters to pull from to fill out the ranks even more with the potential of The Signal, Teen Lantern, and Amethyst available to hop onboard.
What's the plot of Young Justice season 4?
Young Justice has proven time and time again that it isn't afraid to adapt some relatively obscure comic book story lines, and the ending of season 3 opened the doors for some intriguing possibilities. During the finale's last scene, we get a close-up of a waitress wearing a distinctive ring, which is worn by members of the Legion of Superheroes in the comics. This is a team of teenage superheroes (making them a perfect fit for the youth-oriented Young Justice), who normally live in the year 3000 but are able to time travel. This normally only happens when there are problems in the timeline so the fact that at least one of them is already in the present isn't a good sign. Perhaps the "Phantoms" in the season 4 subtitle could be hinting at this legion hiding in the shadows, waiting to reveal themselves.
Over the course of the series, various bread crumbs have also been dropped to hint at possible stories future seasons could adapt. The one that should excite DC fans the most was the tease of Jason Todd/Red Hood in season 3. It would seem like a missed opportunity to not utilize him to torture Batman and the rest of the Bat-family in what could easily make for a multiple episode arc. There's also the Rebirth story line from the comics that brought Wally West back to the land of the living after he became part of the Speed Force. That's precisely how Wally met his demise at the end of Young Justice season 2, and while everyone made it seem like he was gone for good, the next season could have a very emotional reunion.
Then again, maybe Young Justice: Phantoms will throw us all for a loop and do something entirely outside of the box. With an entire galaxy and multiverse available, anything's possible.