Titans Star Joseph Morgan Says Season 4 Will Be Brother Blood's Origin Story
Does anyone else feel like superhero stories are entering their horror phase? Between the vampire-led "Morbius," the serial killer-centric "The Batman," and horror-tinged upcoming projects like Marvel's Halloween special, it seems like it's spooky season for the caped crusaders — and I for one couldn't be happier about it. HBO Max's "Titans" seems to be on board with the trend, as its fourth season is set to explore the origins of another vampire-like villain, Brother Blood (Joseph Morgan).
Brother Blood is a DC villain who first appeared in "The New Teen Titans" in the '80s, as the latest in a long line of cursed, power-hungry priests. Throughout his comic run, Brother Blood has started a cult, visited hell, performed a dark ritual or two, and attempted to find his Bride of Blood (aw!). This is fertile ground for "Titans" to explore, but according to Morgan ("The Vampire Diaries"), the show will start simple, with the villain's origin story.
Meet Brother Blood before the blood
In an Instagram story (via Comicbook.com), Morgan revealed that he's started shooting the first two episodes of "Titans" season 4. "What's been hugely enjoyable for me — in fact, this is the reason I wanted to do this part in the first place," Morgan says, "is that as you know, I'm playing a character called Brother Blood, but that's not where he starts off." The actor then explains that the character begins as Sebastian Sangue before acquiring his supervillain persona.
Morgan seems excited to tackle what he calls "an origin story of a villain." Though production just began at the end of February, Morgan already seems to have a high point. "What's been incredibly rewarding for me — and will continue to be, I think — is exploring how he gets from being Sebastian to becoming Brother Blood," the actor teased.
While we won't know what's in store for this Brother Blood until we get some footage from "Titans" season 4, we can speculate about the characterization based on previous Brother Bloods that have been seen on screen. The villain has appeared most often in animation: first in the 2003 "Teen Titans" series, then in "Teen Titans Go!" and finally in a direct-to-video film called "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract." A reimagining of the character also appeared in "Arrow," played by Kevin Alejandro.
While the animated versions mostly show an older, established version of Blood and the Arrow-verse Blood strays from comic lore, Morgan's take on Brother Blood has the capacity to share a fresh angle on the villain as he grows into his evil.
"Titans" season 4 will debut on HBO Max, likely in 2022.