WARNING: SPOILERS for Young Justice's season 3 finale ahead.
Is Young Justice season 4 happening, and if so, when will it release and what will it be about? Details regarding Young Justice season 4 are few and far between, beyond the show's renewal being confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. The only real certainty is that the wait for Young Justice season 4 will be far shorter than the wait for season 3.
First airing on Cartoon Network in 2010, Young Justice originally centered upon a team of six teenage superheroes that served as sidekicks to members of the Justice League, who formed their own group and acted as covert agents on behalf of their mentors. The series became a cult hit and earned respectable ratings, but was ultimately cancelled because its complex storylines and references to classic comics appealed more to teens and young adults than the young boys to whom the show was meant to sell action figures. Thankfully, Young Justice's fan base rallied and petitioned Warner Bros. to give the show a second chance, eventually succeeding in 2016. However, Young Justice season 3 would not air until January 2019, having been saved as an exclusive for the new DC Universe streaming service.
The long-awaited Young Justice season 3, known as Young Justice: Outsiders, has proven to be a huge success. It earned a 94% fresh rating with professional critics on Rotten Tomatoes and an 87% favorable rating among fans. Though the series has courted controversy by featuring more graphic violence and mature story elements (such as revealing the hero Halo to be genderqueer) and officially catering to an older audience, it seems that the vast majority of Young Justice's fans are glad to have it back and want more of the same. Happily, their wishes are to be granted, and here's what we know about Young Justice season 4.
Young Justice Season 4 Renewal
Young Justice season 4 has officially been ordered. The formal announcement was made during the DC Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. It was also confirmed that Young Justice season 4 would air exclusively on DC Universe in the United States and associated territories, rather than being shifted to Warner Media's new HBO Max service. It has yet to be announced, however, when DC Universe might expand into territories outside the United States.
Young Justice Season 4 Release Date Info
While Executive Producers Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti have confirmed that production on Young Justice season 4 has already started, they had nothing to say about when fans might expect to see the next season air. No official air date has been set, but DC Universe has Young Justice season 4 tentatively set to start broadcasting sometime after the release of Doom Patrol season 2. This means that the earliest fans might get Young Justice season 4 is sometime in late 2020. Thankfully, this will be far less than the 6-year wait fans had to endure between season 2 and season 3 of Young Justice.
Young Justice Season 4 Story Details
Details on the central storyline for Young Justice season 4 are scarce. Weisman and Vietti let it slip during the DC Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 that the new season would continue to focus on Beast Boy's new Outsiders team. They also confirmed that the ongoing battle to end the trafficking of metahuman teenagers from season 3 would remain front and center in the team's priorities during Young Justice season 4.
Weisman and Vietti also confirmed that Lex Luthor would take a more central role among the series' chief antagonists, The Light, in Young Justice season 4. This makes sense given that the final episodes of Young Justice season 3 saw Luthor discuss co-opting the idea of the Outsiders just before the first appearance of a new team of young superheroes called Infinity Inc. This seems to be a nod to the comics, where Luthor famously established his own personal superhero team using the Infinity Inc. name during the year-long miniseries 52.
Presumably some of these difficulties will arise during a time-skip between seasons. Thus far, every new season of Young Justice has opened at least two years after the previous season's finale. Furthermore, it seems likely that we will see an expanded roster of heroes when Young Justice season 4 begins.