Although the Blu-Ray release of Justice League Dark is mere weeks away, it’s not too soon to start talking about DC’s next animated film, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. And if you ask any fan of comics’ most infamous team of adolescent superheroes, this movie seeing the light of day is long, long overdue.
To give some background, the inspiration for this adaptation came from a storyline, also called “The Judas Contract,” that originally appeared in the pages of the wildly popular The New Teen Titans comic book series written by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by George Perez back in the 1980’s. Since its publication, many readers agree that it was their masterpiece.
When Warner Home Video kicked off this initiative of releasing more mature DC animated films direct-to-video – then under the Warner Premiere imprint – back in 2007, The Judas Contract was one of the first projects slated for release. Unfortunately, it never went into full production and was not part of the 2008 slate.
Much to the relief of fans everywhere, the movie is coming soon, but with a bit of a twist. Instead of being a straight up adaptation as it probably would have been in 2008, it will now conform to the New 52 inspired continuity the current crop of animated films follow. Thus, Cyborg is out and characters such as Blue Beetle and Damian Wayne are in.
Returning talents from Justice League vs. Teen Titans include Sean Maher (Nightwing), Kari Wahlgren (Starfire), Jake T. Austin (Blue Beetle), Taissa Farmiga (Raven), Brandon Soo Hoo (Beast Boy) and Stuart Allan (Robin). Joining them will be newcomers Christina Ricci (Terra) and Miguel Ferrer (Deathstroke).
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is directed by Jay Oliva with J.M. DeMatteis and Ernie Albacker fashioning the story. No Blu-ray release has been given as of yet, but expect it to arrive sometime this spring.