Titans season 3 is getting too crowded — which is why the DC drama could benefit from spinoffs. A lot happened in the last season to build out the world in Titans, from Dick Grayson finally becoming Nightwing to expanding Starfire's backstory. There are a lot of changes coming for Titans besides it leaving DC Universe for HBO Max. With the series getting a new home, Titans season 3 will see the team relocate to Gotham City where a number of new players are showing up. Production is underway, and while no actors have been revealed yet, new DC characters like Barbara Gordon and Scarecrow are joining the series.
In addition to that, Jason Todd, better known as the newest Robin, will evolve into Red Hood who will be taking on his former team. It doesn’t stop there though, as Blackfire is confirmed to be one of the main threats for Titans season 3, which will put Starfire in the center of it all. But with all of that, as well as the large main cast that this show already has, Titans is starting to get overcrowded. Introducing new characters takes time away from original members who have been with the series since the first season. Characters like Beast Boy haven't had a chance to be fully developed in Titans because of new characters constantly being added.
While the Titans universe has great potential, putting it all in just one show is going to overwhelm the franchise in the long run. Now that the series (along with Doom Patrol) has fully migrated from DC Universe to HBO Max, Titans are on a platform where spinoff series would be more appropriate than ever. The Teen Titans mythology is one of the bigger ones in DC Comics and cramming it all into one series is a disservice to the legacy. With everything that is coming in Titans season 3, these are the best spinoff shows that HBO Max should consider making.
Titans
Before each spinoff is explored, there is one specific thing that Titans should stick to as other characters take off. In Titans season 2, it was established that prior to forming the team with Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven, the Titans concept had actually already existed in this universe. Operating as Robin, Dick worked with Dove, Hawk, Wonder Girl, Aqualad, and possibly others as the first incarnation of the team. While Dick revived the next generation of young heroes, it’s the dynamic of the original team that could be explored in depth. Even though Donna Troy died last season, it’s pretty much a given at this point that Titans season 3 is adapting the Troia storyline as part of her resurrection.
What would be best for another Teen Titans show to focus more on the young adults of the team, including the newcomer Starfire, who is the only new adult hero. That way, with the teen heroes off on their own, it could pave the way for other legacy members to be introduced such as Wally West/Flash, Victor Stone/Cyborg, and Roy Harper/Arsenal. Titans could focus on how they operated together when they were younger while also focusing on the challenges of coming together once more. This way, the show can continue with its gritty tone, as it has since the series began.
Teen Titans
While Titans has a lot of young adults as part of the line-up, the first two seasons have already included a lot of the teenage members from the comics. From Raven, Beast Boy, to Ravager and Conner Kent (aka Superboy), there are still many teenagers left to be introduced. As Titans could focus on the adults, the younger ones should literally be given a Teen Titans spinoff series. One of the upsides of the teens moving to their own show is that they wouldn’t have to be shadowed over by the original team, which was the case for a lot of Titans season 2.
For someone like Beast Boy, this could become Gar Logan’s time to shine as he has sidelined a lot in the last two seasons. Either Gar was underdeveloped or he was subjected to something like Project Cadmus where he became a prisoner and weapon for Mercy Graves. This could also benefit someone like Superboy who, despite his big introduction at the end of Titans season 1, only played into the last season for a handful of episodes. A Teen Titans series should could also, without departing too much from Titans, be its own tone and maybe pull inspiration from Young Justice that could bring in a younger audience.
Red Hood
One of the big changes coming to Titans season 3 is Jason’s evolution from Robin to Red Hood. While it does appear that they will do that transformation a bit differently from the comics, Red Hood will be a big part of the coming season. But someone as huge as Red Hood was born to have his own film or TV show in some regard. Whatever war he will have with the team will, obviously, just be for Titans season 3. It’s unlikely that Jason will ever be on their side again, which is why a Red Hood spinoff is the best thing for the character after his coming arc.
Something that doesn’t really exist right now in the DC superhero/comic book TV genre is an anti-hero. The Arrowverse may possibly have one in 2021/2022 with the Black Lightning spinoff Painkiller that would focus on Khalil Payne and his other personality. That would be the first Arrowverse anti-hero drama and there is no reason why a Red Hood show shouldn’t follow suit. With a platform like HBO Max, the creative team could really go deep into Red Hood’s mythology and follow Jason saving the world, but in a brutal way. An alternative idea for Ravager is that she could be one of the main players on Red Hood instead on Teen Titans as Rose and Jason did start a relationship last season.
Hawk & Dove
When Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly were originally cast on Titans as Hawk and Dove, there were actually bigger plans for their characters post-season 1. At the time of their casting, it was revealed that they had the option to become series regular the following season while potentially headline a Hawk & Dove spinoff show in the future. As they have become main players on Titans, it can’t be denied that Hawk and Dove sometimes feel like they would be better serviced on their own show. Now that the Titans franchise is on HBO Max, it might be the proper time to do a Hawk and Dove drama.
While the two aren’t precisely the biggest characters in the DC Universe, a romantic-crime drama is something that DC TV doesn’t have a lot of at the moment. The problem is that there are too many characters on Titans, and when it comes to Hank and Dawn, their relationship doesn’t get to be properly explored the way it should. If they moved to their own series, Ritchson and Kelly would have more breathing room to develop this duo, both romantically and as superheroes. With the amazing chemistry they have with one another, it would be a waste to not let Hawk and Dove shine some more.
Titans are, without a doubt, a big property for DC and Warner Bros since the Teen Titans have a massive legacy behind them. But in the show’s current form the mythology can’t be fully realized when they are packing in so many storylines and characters season after season. This wouldn’t have been possible while Titans were still on DC Universe. Now that they have moved to HBO Max, which has far bigger resources, the Titans-verse should take the opportunity to explore spinoffs while also unloading the mother series at the same time.