Titans, a TV series based upon the Teen Titans comics, is in development and will begin shooting September 25 in Atlanta, Georgia. The rumors also suggest the show will launch with a new streaming service exclusive to DC Comics. Titans itself is expected to premiere in 2018.
The lineup is suggested to feature Nightwing, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy. There is no word yet on Cyborg, who is featured prominently in the upcoming Justice League film.
Overseeing Titans will be Akiva Goldsman (Jonah Hex), Greg Berlanti (Arrow), Geoff Johns (Wonder Woman) and Sarah Schechter (Supergirl). The pilot script will be written by Goldsman, Berlanti and Johns.
Titans has been in development since 2014, when it was being developed for the TNT network, and was going to film in Toronto, Canada. But, filming was postponed in 2015, and development with TNT stopped in 2016. Before this, a live action Teen Titans film was in development since 2007, and rumors suggest a possible film in the DC Extended Universe.
Titans will not be alone in Atlanta. Currently in production in the city is Black Lightning, also based on a DC Comics superhero. Black Lightning is set to premiere on the CW network in late 2017 or 2018.
Marvel is also currently producing comic adaptations in Atlanta. New Warriors is currently being developed for the Freeform television network. It will follow the misadventures of teenagers trying to be superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel is no stranger to Atlanta, having filmed scenes for Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Avengers: Infinity War at the Pinewood Atlanta Studios.
Currently, there are dozens of TV shows filmed around Atlanta, including Stranger Things, the McGyver reboot and Quantum Break. The supernatural comic show Constantine was also filmed in Atlanta. The first comic book adaptation to be filmed in Atlanta was The Walking Dead, back in 2010.
Much of this has been made possible by the Georgia state government passing film and TV production incentives. According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, “qualifying productions receive a 20% tax credit, plus an additional 10% credit for embedding a Georgia promotional logo in…film title or credits.”
Basically, that’s 20-30% of the film’s budget paid back to the production, by the state of Georgia. This has led to controversy in some states among voters, who feel state governments should not be paying back tax money to film productions. As a counterpoint, the Georgia Department of Economic Development claimed that in 2015, all the film and TV productions filmed in Georgia and the city of Atlanta, created an economic impact of $6 billion. In fact, the Georgia production industry is only third compared to New York and California.
With both production companies and the city of Atlanta benefiting, we will most likely see more comic book properties filming in the “Hollywood of the South.”
From the Editor – In a continuance of the unsettling trend toward fragmentation of the video distribution marketplace, Warner Bros. Studios is following CBS’ lead and creating their own subscription service; the Titans television series is slated to be part of that service. This raises the spectre of yet another isolated subscription to see a single show, and signals a disturbing trend in the industry. Nobody knows for sure whether the public will tolerate a different service for every studio. All we can do is wait and see.
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Nick Corbin is a filmmaker and writer who hails from Boise, Idaho. When he isn’t busy acting, or writing a screenplay for his own production company, Nick can be found consuming any geek media he can get his hands on. To start a conversation, ask him about the latest cosplay he is working on.
