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tritogeneia · 3 months ago

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Fan Casting James Gunn's DC Universe's Teen Titans

I have been on Tumblr for about 10 years now(good god I'm ancient) and have mostly reblogged but today have decided to put my comic knowledge to the test: by fan casting James Gunn's DC Universe's Teen Titans because why not. I will be including pictures and links to Youtube videos when I reference them, but otherwise, enjoy. This was mostly fueled because Creature Feature or whatever it's called had a still that included Starfire, confirming her existence in this universe.

Side note: there's like 50 members of the Teen Titans across comics and I ain't doing all that so to make it easier for me(and you), here is the team I've made to make it more digestible.

Also, I want to make it clear that ages don't really matter here, because this is tumblr, but I do mention them just for sometimes. However, I did try my hardest to actually get actors and actresses in, and not just models because not all models can act, and also because they are called the TEEN Titans, but several of them were on the team when they were in college and not teens anymore.

Obviously, there's the Perez + Wolfman team of Nightwing, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven & Cyborg, but also some of the other obvious ones: Arsenal(Roy Harper), Wally West, Rose Wilson/Ravager, Cassie Sandsmark/Wonder Girl II, Speedy II, Miss Martian, Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle III, Bart Allen/Kid Flash, Kiran Singh/Solstice and, of course, Tara Markov/Terra. That's a lot of people so let's get into it!

Dick Grayson/Robin I/Nightwing

So, there aren't a lot of Romani actors that are both

a) young enough/alive to play Dick

and/or

b) actually able to match his skill set

So, I decided to think outside the box a little bit. A youtube video I watched recently casted an actor from the Ms. Marvel show, the one who played the love interest character for Kamala Khan as Dick Grayson. And while I don't think it's necessarily a bad choice, I just don't think it's one that I personally would pick because the actor himself is pretty beefed up. I honestly would have him play Jason instead because of his build. Anyways, for my pick, I decided to essentially look at old maps of Romani populations pre-World War 2, because that's when their populations in Eastern Europe would've been the largest. Romania housed the largest population of Romani people pre-World War 2, and Romania was apart of the Ottoman Empire, and Romani people had civil rights in the Ottoman Empire dating back to the 15th Century.

With all that said, I decided that a Romanian actor would probably be a little bit more fitting, since it was a little more historically relevant(unless a young Romani actor becomes huge in the next few years, in which I will edit this and add them in here instead). Without further ado, my choice for the role of Dick Grayson is... Stefan Iancu.

Stefan is 27, and has starred in a number of projects since the age of four. Most notably, for people in the states, he was in Killing Eve! I chose him mostly for the reasons above, but also because a lot of his projects have been either physically active projects(such as war/spy/historical wartime projects) and also because he has won several awards in Romania for his acting prowess.

~~~

Koriand'r/Starfire

Okay, so this isn't going to be controversial because while I have never seen the show Titans(mostly because half the time the screen is basically pitch black so you can't watch it anyways), I actually don't mind Anna Diop as Starfire. And ever since I saw Megan Thee Stallion's Starfire cosplay for Halloween last year I was FLOORED. So no, I am NOT in the "black women can't play Starfire" camp. I think a black woman SHOULD play Starfire. But who?

To start, she should be tall. Most incarnations of Starfire show her as being as tall as or even taller than Dick. Stefan Iancu is 5'7"(sorry anyone who uses the Metric System- that's about 1.702 meters). So we're aiming for someone who is 5'7 at least or taller. And that person is Tati Gabrielle. So I did originally want someone taller, but Tati is the same height as Stefan and also while I don't exactly love the idea of wedge heels , regular degular heels will also work, or shoe inserts.

She is slated to play the protagonist in the newest Naughty Dog game, and also starred in You season 3, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted(movie) and so much more! Miss girl IS the moment.

~~~

Garfield Logan/Beast Boy

So Beast Boy is a little bit of an interesting case. For Dick and Kori, their backstories are pretty cut and dry. But Garfield's is pretty long and complicated, and also he's been around since the 60's, and he was a member of the Doom Patrol, and also he was experimented on(but sometimes he's not? Comics are weird), but he's smart, but he's also not. And he has a healing factor, but then he doesn't.

So, yeah. For Garfield, I think it would be better to just give him the most basic of basic backstories, and just do that. Since I know this will(probably) only be read by like four people anyways, I will continue on as if you, the reader, know this already. Garfield comes from a family of scientists who live in Africa studying animals and sometimes they're trying to bring back extinct species, and sometimes they run animal sanctuaries. Either way, they are animal lovers. His race isn't necessarily a huge part of his identity, considering he's... you know... GREEN. So honestly any actor will do here.

And that actor, I have decided is going to be Josh Heuston. So this man is Australian(and tall at 5'11), and he's also very pretty. I am very slightly tempted to switch this man and Stefan Iancu, because LOOK AT HIS EYES AND JAWLINE. But, I stand by my decision, because I did all that research and I'll be damned if I let it go to waste. I think him having green eyes is just the cherry on top. Now, let's move on!

~~~

Rachel Roth/Raven

Raven isn't hard to get right and I am tired of people acting like it is. Raven isn't a teenager who is looking for attention or some random kid that's just losing her mind for fun, she's a tormented soul. Her powers are connected to her emotions, so she genuinely can't allow herself to feel any emotion, positive or negative. Think of trying to jumpstart a car. You have to be careful because if you're not you could hurt yourself or mess up your car, right? That's Raven's power in a nutshell. I have OCD, and so I can relate to having that shadow hanging behind me, saying "you are everything bad they think you are", which is still something I struggle with. All in all, Raven isn't someone who just has these crazy freak outs- she loses control because Trigon deliberately makes her by controlling her mind.

Anyways, rant over. Raven is one of my favorite characters of all time so this was more of a passion rant than anything else. My pick to play Raven is Barbie Ferreira!

Now, I have never seen Euphoria, I honestly haven't really been interested in watching it. It's always felt kind of fetishy and exploitative to me and I don't want to consume content like that anyways, so it's never really been on my radar. But, from the snippets I've seen on social media, I think Barbie can really pull it off, because it seems like she has a skill that I also share- no one ever knows what I'm ever feeling. I'm very good at chameleoning my way through life, and no one can ever read my body language or facial expressions very accurately, because I've mastered just... not giving them up. So Barbie is my choice.

~~~

Victor Stone/Cyborg

Victor is definitely one of those characters who needs to be the most human of the team. Getting him right means getting the reason why the Titans work so well right. If you've seen the teaser trailer for the new Fantastic Four movie and saw how they behaved and talked around the Thing/Ben Grimm, Victor is essentially the Titans' version of Ben. He holds the team down, and he also knows what humanity means, even though he's surrounded by Gods and Monsters and often feels like a monster himself. Anyways, for Victor, I have chosen the amazingly talented Jharell Jerome! I was originally going to go with John Boyega, but then decided to go with Jharell because he's from the Bronx, and it was really important for me that for Cyborg at least, that he was African American, so that there was that cultural understanding of POCs in the US and already not trusting police or law enforcement.

With Victor, he basically goes into hiding immediately after his transformation, and it was important for me to have that connection of why he would be so afraid to go outside(aside from the normal, I'm now half robot stuff) and why he would be such a rock for the Titans, and it would give him motivation to be that person for others as well.

~~~~~

Okay so now that we have the MAIN FIVE Titans out of the way, I'm going to start going into the other Titans that I want to see and would love to see be included, as well as my dream casting for them.

So to start, there's Roy Harper/Arsenal, Wally West and Donna Troy, who are all founding members of the original Titans but haven't been members in decades(looking at you Wally and Donna). Donna I am keeping off this list because her comic background is just so weird and confusing that even I don't get it(and that's saying something), so for everyone's sanity I am keeping her off this list.

For Wally, most of the comics have him either die or "disappear into the speed force" before returning after a while, so I'm thinking of either having him as a background character that's mentioned as dead already OR have him actually just be the Flash because for a really long time Barry Allen actually was just dead for a while and Wally was the Flash.

Roy is simply Roy. He's had three names, has a daughter with Cheshire(this is important later), and sometimes is a clone, sometimes is the original and has 3 other clones, and sometimes he's hooking up with Starfire who's also hooking up with Jason Todd(THANK YOU NEW 52 #THENEW52SUCKS). So let's just take it easy and start with Wally.

So don't throw pitchforks at me, but I actually hate when studios change red headed characters from red headed to people of color. NOT because they're now people of color but because it's really lazy. Like, really? You couldn't just CREATE a new charater with a similar-ish name and call it a day? MCU's Spiderman did it with Michelle Jones-Watson, and it worked perfectly because she's not MJ. Sure, her name is MJ, but it's not Mary-Jane.

Anyways, all this to say that Wally, Roy and Miss Martian will be sporting their red hair because those are my rules. Bart has brown hair so he doesn't count. And Starfire was already established to basically be a woman of color at her creation anyways so she also doesn't count. So, interlude over, let's continue.

~~~

Wally West/Kid Flash

So, for Wally, I actually was pretty quick with choosing him because apparently there's an abundance of ginger actors in Hollywood but also I already had someone in mind. And that someone is Cameron Monaghan!

Now, not only was he hilarious on Shameless, but he's just genuinely talented in general. Most people consider him to be a GOOD Joker in Gotham until the writers did the split personality type thing and ruined all the plot they had built up. And that's a feat few people have under their belt. Especially for a pretty "meh it's okay" TV show. I think he would work as Wally either as the Flash or even as a flashback because he just is able to adapt as an actor, which is what makes him so talented.

~~~

Roy Harper/Arsenal

So I also got Roy figured out pretty quick, only because I was looking for someone who just kind looks rough. Roy in the comics usually has a past with addictions, and also he is almost always portrayed with long hair and a trucker hat. So for Roy, I found someone who has long red hair and looks a little rough around the edges(which is fine, I also look rough about 90% of the time). And that person is Caleb Landry Jones!

Caleb is most well known for being in Get Out, but he's been in other films and projects since then. He was pretty menacing in Get Out, which is also why I picked him, because Roy has a pretty complicated relationship with Green Arrow and even the other Titans at certain points in the comics.

~~~

Rose Wilson/Ravager

Okay, so this one might be my magnum opus. Rose Wilson is the second child and only daughter of Deathstroke. As a child, he wanted her to be exactly like him so he blinded her in one eye to match his. Rose has enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, senses, intellect, accelerated healing and decelerated aging. She's also an expert marksman and swordsman like her father.

Originally I was going to try and find a Black woman with albinism to portray Rose, because Rose has stark white hair, just like Deathstroke. But there sadly aren't any actresses that fit the part. So we are going to have to break the mold a little bit.

Thando Hopa. She's a South African model with albinism. She is the first person with albinism to strike the cover of Vogue magazine. She's a little older than my age cutoff, but honestly she's clearly been blessed with the no-age gene because she looks like she's in her early 20s

~~~

Cassie Sandsmark/Wonder Girl II

Wonder Woman is my favorite superhero. There, I said it. She is the moment, and Cassie is probably my favorite sidekick ever because she's just so unique. Something that the writers at DC did that really surprised me is that they actually took tropes from Ancient Greek myths when they wrote Cassie's stories in the early 2000s.

One of Cassie's follies is rage. Like the story of Heracles, she becomes enraged to easily and often just relies on her strength and lets her anger fuel it. So, naturally, Ares gives her a lasso that can channel Zeus' lightning bolts, but only when she gets angry. Ares wants Cassie to be his champion, and often tries to fuel her own anger to convince her to join his side.

Obviously, this is metal as hell and needs to be a plot point, so we need an actress that can actually portray mad. Who can portray that primal feeling of anger and show no remorse for nearly leveling a town because of it. And that can only be done by one person specifically(at least for this role): Samara Weaving.

I don't know if you guys have seen Ready or Not but she absolutely slays the house DOWN in this. She takes no prisoners, kicks ass, and has no remorse for it. She is absolutely perfect for this role.

~~~

M'gann M'orzz/Miss Martian

Hoo boy. You thought my rant on Raven was bad? Put your seatbelts on, we are about to enter a new level of rant.

I grew up watching Young Justice. It was the show I would watch everyday before going to school. And M'gann's story of desperately wanting to fit in and doing anything to achieve that? Yeah, super felt. Being constantly rejected or left behind left me clinging to this character like a life line, waiting for life to reel me back in. And honestly? I'm kind of still waiting.

But anyways, M'gann is one of my favorite animated characters, and she is so complex. Her motivations, wants, needs and even attributes are all in an attempt to hide her true Martian heritage.

In DC lore, there are 2 main races of Martians on Mars. Green Martians(duh) and White Martians. They were once the same, some stuff happened, they split, and now they're somehow the same but different? Comics are weird. Anyways, M'gann is a White Martian that 'disguises' herself as a Green so that she can have more acceptance due to the constant rejection and bullying she received as a child. So, she uses the name Miss Martian and shapeshifts her skin green.

This is a SUPER important part to her character and cannot be fudged up. It's the ultimate motivation for her, and her slowly coming to accept it and be more open with her true self.

The reason why I say her appearance is so important is because in the Young Justice show, she ties her appearance to a show that her uncle, Martian Manhunter, used to send to Mars when she was a kid that she latched onto. So, her appearance is super important and it's why whenever I see her being played by someone who just kind of looks normal or doesn't look recognizable, it does a giant disservice to M'gann and her character. So, I chose Sadie Sink as the actress to play M'gann.

The reason why I chose Sadie is because Sadie is recognizable. You know what she looks like and can instantly say "oh, that's Sadie Sink". I think that either Stranger Things or something similar that Sadie has been in that is very recognizable to the audience should be the reason why M'gann uses this as her "face" essentially, because then it would be more relatable to the audience, and make M'gann's reasonings and motivations more clear. And, they could literally just essentially paint Sadie green it would still work- that's how committed M'gann is to keeping her true form a secret. She doesn't need to be unrecognizable, she needs to look like Sadie Sink but green.

~~~

Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle III

Oh Jaime, how thankful I am that the Blue Beetle movie exists. Xolo Maridueña is somehow my dream casting and the perfect role for Jaime, so thanks for doing my job for me, Blue Beetle movie!

~~~

Bart Allen/Impulse/Kid Flash

Sooooo, two speedsters on one list? Shocking, I know. But Bart is one of the funniest characters known to comics(at least for speedsters) and that's saying something because Wally exists. There's this great comic of Bart getting a Green Lantern tattoo or something(because he can't get a Flash one, that would give away his secret identity, duh!) and from just him going from tattoo shop to the Titans Tower, he shows the team(who are all thoroughly unimpressed) and it literally disappears due to his metabolism and healing factor. 100 bucks down the drain, my guy.

This makes me laugh every time I think about it. Truly one for the ages. Also those bangs and headband combo on Cassie? Iconic.

Anyways, I think that Wyatt Oleff would make a great Bart, just because of his one-liners in It and It Part II. I think with a good script, it would be a match made in heaven.

~~~

Kiran Singh/Solstice

So Kiran is someone who is really important because good Desi representation in Western media is lacking, and with the release of Ms. Marvel, that gaping hole of Desi representation is becoming more and more visible. So, I added Kiran because we need good Desi and good South East Asian representation. Kiran has been described by her creators as "a positive spirit - influenced by the various cultures she’s encountered during her travels throughout the world. She embraces life and all the adventure and experiences it offers". She manipulates light and can fly. She basically can blast you with light, and therefore I believe she should be played by someone who just radiates kindness and light and smiles as bright as the sun.

And obviously is Desi or Indian. I was kind of stuck trying to find an actress that fit into this idea that I had until I found her- the brightest star(because all suns are stars) in the galaxy of actresses who could play Kiran- Alia Bhatt.

She is SO gorgeous and just has that radiant energy, even through pictures. She is also the moment.

~~~

Tara Markov/Terra

Alright, now we have a heavy hitter. Terra is definitely one of those characters that is both a good character and a bad character. At her worst, she is a CSA victim that is used and abused by Deathstroke and then tossed aside when he has no more use for her, only for her to then take revenge at the last second, killing both herself and Deathstroke in an act of... self sacrifice? At her best, she is a complicated, abused character who has questionable motive and is manipulated by Deathstroke into betraying her family/team because he has convinced her that he is the only one that actually cares, only for her to break free of those chains and redeem herself and become a hero(thank you Young Justice season 3).

Terra is another one of those characters who you really have to understand to get right. If you don't get her right, then you're misunderstanding why The Judas Contract was such a big deal for the Titans history and why it keeps being adapted. Terra herself is both a martyr and a villain, but she's also someone who makes mistakes and has to work hard to earn forgiveness for those mistakes.

Now, do I prefer her and Beast Boy together or Beast Boy and Raven together? Honestly, I prefer Terra to be Beast Boy's first love- the one that got away, the one that he really thought was going to last forever and it just... didn't. Raven and Terra are so opposite from each other, but they're also very similar.

Anyways, rant aside, I truly believe that Terra needs to be played by a scream queen, because that girl is extremely emotionally stunted(which is totally okay and makes sense with her history) and has these outbursts a lot. So, I chose Jenna Ortega to play her.

If you haven't seen the clip of Jenna screaming in X, then you need to see it because that girl KNOWS how to scream like she means it.

~~~

Mia Dearden/Speedy(aka Artemis Crock/Tigress)

Okay LISTEN. You really didn't expect me to just not include my girl Artemis in this list? Hell no.

So, Artemis in the comics is actually a villain. Like a super crazy big villain. She's actually married to Icicle Jr.. Her father is Sportsmaster, her sister IS Cheshire/Jade Nguyen(told you she'd come back!). But, Artemis has mostly been unused since, which sucks because the Young Justice did such a good job with her. So, I'm bringing her here. I'm kind of mashing both Mia Dearden and Artemis Crock together, mostly because Artemis was never a hero in the comics.

Mia's backstory is really dark- she's also a victim of CSA, and a victim of human trafficking. Now, Mia is eventually rescued by Green Arrow and becomes 'Speedy'. So, I'm kind of mashing their characters, with Artemis' origins being the same, but having her taking the Speedy mantle. So, Artemis is half Vietnamese, half White, but I'm choosing to just have a Vietnamese actress play her, because wigs exist but also, like I've said- South East Asian representation matters. So, I chose Lana Condor(who is Vietnamese) to play Artemis.

I think it would also be a good subversion of what we're used to seeing from Lana, we're used to seeing her play these rom-coms, and seeing her play a tough and mean character that fights dirty is something that I think that would ultimately boost her even more. Sis can ACT, okay, and I want to see her in more roles, not just the To All the Boys type films.

~~~

Alright, so that was all my picks for the 2025 Teen Titans draft. I tried to include as many POCs as possible, but if you have any other suggestions let me know!

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