Titans will be adding one of the most famous Batman allies to the roster of heroes appearing in its third season. Boyhood and Tree of Life star Savannah Welch joins the cast of the DC Universe series as Barbara Gordon, the alter-ego of Batgirl.
Titans debuted on DC Universe as the streaming service's first original scripted series, earning a second season renewal even before the first episode premiered in October 2018. With DC Universe set to relaunch as a digital comics subscription service effective January 21, 2021, Titans will be one of the streamer's original shows to find a new home at HBO Max for its forthcoming season.
Variety reports that Welch joins the cast of Titans season 3 as Barbara Gordon after the character has already retired from her role as Batgirl. Shot and paralyzed by Joker, Gordon now serves as the Gotham City Police Commissioner and has a contentious relationship with Bruce Wayne. When Dick Grayson returns to Gotham, Barbara rekindles her romance and develops a new crimefighting partnership with her former ally. Welch, who is also a member of the alt-country band The Trisha, has become a spokesperson for the disability community since losing one of her legs after being hit by a vehicle in 2016.
Barbara Gordon has been a vital member of the Batman family in both live-action and animated DC projects through the years. The character was perhaps most famously portrayed by the late Yvonne Craig in ABC's Batman TV series opposite Adam West and Burt Ward. DC officially retired the character in 1988's one-shot comic Batgirl Special #1 before writer Alan Moore controversially had her shot and paralyzed as part of Joker's scheme to drive her father, James Gordon, mad in Batman: The Killing Joke. Afterward, Gordon reinvented herself as Oracle, the leader of the Birds of Prey and a key source of intelligence for several DC heroes.
The third season of Titans was originally scheduled to debut on DC Universe in late 2020 before the streaming service shifted away from original television programming. However, production on Titans season 3 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and would not begin until October 2020, consequently delaying the premiere date of the DC series' third season.
Not every series to launch on DC Universe will be moving to HBO Max for future seasons. The second season of Stargirl will air as an original series on The CW, the network that aired the first 13 episodes of the series shortly after they premiered on DC Universe.
Titans season 3 will be released on HBO Max.
Source: Variety