The first trailer for Titans season 3 dropped this week, and it promised a thrilling run of the DC TV series to come later this summer. In particular, Bat-fans have a lot to look forward to as the show is relocating to Gotham City, with season 3 introducing various iconic Bat-family members and enemies into the mix, including Barbara Gordon (Savannah Welch), Tim Drake (Jay Lycurgo) and Scarecrow (Vincent Kartheiser).
But the trailer might’ve also indicated that the Bat himself is about to be written out of the series. Dark times are afoot in Titans as this season 3 first look opened with the death of Jason Todd (Curran Walters). The incident was not shown, but a stunned Bruce Wayne (Iain Glen) returned to Wayne Manor holding a crowbar, recalling how Joker beat Jason to death in the comics.
Meanwhile, a new masked vigilante, Red Hood, is on the rise in Gotham and he seems to have a bone to pick with the Dark Knight. “Batman is gone,” he says at one point, while in another, a broken Bruce tells Dick Grayson (Brenton Thwaites), “Be a better Batman.” All this seems to suggest Red Hood – no doubt a resurrected and more militant Jason – will kill his former mentor, leaving Dick to take up the mantle in his place.
This would be a hugely dark turn of events, but this is Titans we’re talking about, so it’s not as easy to rule out as you might think. There is the strong possibility that the trailer is deliberately misleading us, however, and is just trying to get fans thinking Batman’s going to die to generate hype and interest online. Maybe it could end up offering him some kind of redemption instead.
There’s not long to wait until we find out. Titans season 3 premieres Thursday, August 12th on HBO Max.