When it comes to Titans‘ second season, there’s certainly a lot to look forward to. Not only will Deathstroke emerge as the new big bad, but we’ll also meet the likes of Superboy, Jericho, Ravager, Mercy Graves and Bruce Wayne in the flesh. In addition to those folks, it’s worth mentioning how a live action version of Aqualad will also be along for the ride, someone who hasn’t been discussed all that much to this point.
Those of you who are intimately familiar with Atlanteans know of how there have been multiple versions of Aqualad in pop culture. More often than not, the iteration we’re used to seeing is that of Garth, who’ll be played by Drew Van Acker on the Titans show itself. And if comic books aren’t your cup of tea, you’ve likely at least been introduced to him by way of the Teen Titans animated series.
Actually, he did appear on Young Justice, but he wasn’t the Aqualad that time around. Instead, we were introduced to Kaldur’ahm, who’s since gone on to inherit the mantle of Aquaman in that universe. And although Kaldur isn’t gay on the cartoon, his comic book counterpart is.
Given that, there have been questions regarding whether Aqualad will be gay on Titans. As of right now, it doesn’t look like it because all that’s been said is that he’s “a founding member of the Titans and Aquaman’s eager sidekick,” but it’s important to remember how executive producer Geoff Johns once stated “There’s one Titan that already is gay, that we’ve talked about bringing on — probably [in the second] season.”
Based on how it’s Garth jumping aboard and not Kaldur’ahm, my gut tells me he won’t be gay – but you never know when changes will be made to an existing character. In fact, it’s Bunker who immediately springs to mind if we’re talking bringing LGBT representation on the show, but we’ve heard zilch regarding him.
I guess questions will be answered once Titans returns for its second season on the DC Universe streaming service. Right now, no premiere date has been given, though an early 2020 debut is likely.