Warning: SPOILERS for the Titans episode “Project Starfire” are ahead!
Although Tim Drake has been depicted in animation and video games numerous times, Titans marks the first instance of the character being portrayed by live-action, The Batman vet Jay Lycurgo was brought in to recur as Tim during Season 3, and was upgraded to the main cast for Season 4. Then in March, it was announced that Lycurgo’s Tim would finally become the third Robin, which happened in the latest episode, “Project Starfire.” However, comics fans will know that Tim’s Robin origin story differs heavily from what happened in the Batman comics in a big way, and Lycurgo told CinemaBlend why he’s “content” with this, as well as the show’s handling of the “different adaptations” of The Boy Wonder.
Of course, when one thinks of Robin in any form, Batman usually comes to mind since the former is the latter’s sidekick. However, in Titans, Tim Drake never actually met Iain Glen’s Bruce Wayne, although like his comic book counterpart, he was able to deduce that he was Gotham City’s Caped Crusader on his own. As such, although Bruce did appear a few times in Season 3, he never played a role in Tim’s superhero journey, with Brenton Thwaites’ Dick Grayson, a.k.a. Nightwing, instead filling the mentor role. During my chat with Jay Lycurgo ahead of “Project Starfire” premiering to HBO Max subscribers, the actor had this to say when I asked if he wished Tim and Bruce had gotten some face time, or if he was content with how that aspect of the show shaped out:
I’m content with the way it was shaped out. I mean, I really looked up to Brenton as an actor anyway, so every time that I got to get a two-hander with him, it was really rewarding, and I just wanted to make a great scene with him. But I must say that when I was watching Season 3, Episode 5, Jason’s episode with Iain Glen, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Oh, I would love if Tim got that moment,’ but obviously it would have redirected the story in a different way, so I understand why they did it the way they did. But me and Iain had our moments offset. We got close, so I was hoping that we’d have that moment, but you never know.
Although Tim Drake aided in defeating Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. Scarecrow, during Season 3, his superhero training didn’t kick off until the start of Season 4, when he was given a bo staff. Slowly, but surely, Tim got the hang of using the weapon, and then came “Project Starfire,” where Dick sent Tim to Gotham City to seek out someone who had information about Mother Mayhem, and gave him his own Robin costume to bring along. As it turns out, that was just a cover, as Dick had actually arranged for Curran Walters’ Jason Todd, a.k.a. Red Hood, to put Tim through his unique brand of training. Lycurgo is ok with how Tim got to this point, both because of his relationship with Thwaites and acknowledging that the story needed to progress in a specific way, but at least he and Iain Glen got to spend some quality time together despite their characters not doing so.
This means that Titans has now featured the first three Robins from the comics all costumed up, the first time that’s been done in a live-action show; other characters who’ve held that mantle include Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne (who will be featured in The Brave and the Bold movie) and Carrie Kelley from The Dark Knight Returns. I later asked Jay Lycurgo was his favorite thing was about exploring the legacy of Robin in Titans, and he answered:
I guess it’s just that they’re very open to different adaptations of Robin… I remember fans being like, ‘Why’re there so many Robins?’ But because there’s so many Robins, there’s so many different specialties that these Robins have. Like, with Jason, that rebellion, it was beautiful in Season 3, but once you saw Tim come through that season and you saw the purity in him. It was a different dynamic, but I really loved the family dynamic that Tim Drake had. It just showed what his morals were and his purity as what would become of him being a superhero. So I really loved that they were able to show these different adaptations, and to be honest, not every show can do that, and I think they made it work for what it is… Look, I would have loved a one-off episode with Tim just to see that kind of build, but at the same time, I think they did it. They executed it pretty well. I was really happy with the ending of Titans and how Tim was portrayed. Even though we get a hint of what his potential was, I think it was really fun.
With Tim Drake now able to hold his own in a fight thanks to Jason Todd, he’s now headed back to Metropolis for the Titans’ final showdown against Sebastian Sanger, a.k.a. Brother Blood. It also comes right before the series comes to a close, as both Titans and Doom Patrol were cancelled in January. However, showrunner Greg Walker told us that this announcement “didn’t disrupt anything” with how Season 4 was crafted, as he and the other writers were already writing as if this was the last hurrah. So whatever goes down in the series finale, at least fans needn’t worry about it ending on a cliffhanger or with any major plot threads unresolved.
The final episode of Titans hits HBO Max next Thursday, May 11. Not to worry though, as there are plenty of upcoming DC TV shows for fans to look forward to in the coming years, and for which CinemaBlend will continue providing updates.
