The DC Universe has been met with something of a mixed response, at least on the streaming side. People have been loving Doom Patrol and fans were extremely excited for Young Justice’s return, but Titans was dreadful. You wouldn’t know it from the way the panel at WonderCon unfolded. It was honestly a pretty interesting panel and a good look into how the service plans to continue.
The service has 2000 fans joining every day and the folks behind it said that not only have they been happy but that they’ve given away $25,000 in prize packages, including an upcoming SHazam screening. They want to do more stuff involving fan outreach such as bringing them on set. It’s also worth noting that the service is offering 24 hours of free Batman content on March 30 as well as adding over 20,000 comics starting in April. In my opinion, it seems like a good strategy to take a fans first approach until you can build up the brand to the point where the casual fan will want to sign up.
Upcoming Dates
Krypton – April 5
Justice League vs. The Fatal Five – April 16
Swamp Thing – May 31
Young Justice: Outsiders – July 2
Odds and Ends
Doom Patrol – So I have to say that the host for this panel was shilling so hard for this show that I’m 63.6% sure I’m going to check out some episodes. Showrunner Jeremy Carver wanted to keep the characters human, even though they are really weird (Brendan Fraser as some sort of talking machine thing was a highlight of the clip). It was revealed that the episode that was the coolest was directed by a woman and Carver said he’s hoping to have more female directors and wants to focus on diversity in front of and behind the camera.
Swamp Thing – Swamp Thing is probably the riskiest comic property this side of Guardians of the Galaxy. Showrunner Mark Verheiden wants to be true to the southern gothic horror and even worked with the same VFX company that James Wan did on The Conjuring to make sure there was a strong balance of practical effects, leading to some incredibly graphic sequences. Derek Mears was cast as the Swamp thing and Mark said they wanted someone comfortable working under the suit, a good actor, and at 6’6″ he’s an impressive creature of his own. If the footage was anything to go by, it could be a special show.
Young Justice: Outsiders – This show, not Titans, drove a ton of sign ups for the site. Given the fan fervor, that’s not surprising. I quit the new season about 6 episodes in and after screening the July 2 episode, I am still resolute in that decision. The show is taking a decidedly “adult” turn and it doesn’t make the show better. But I did find it interesting they are dealing with a non-binary character, Halo, even though she is stuck in the dumbest relationship this side of Miss Martian and Superboy.
Also, here’s some Titans casting
