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Teen Titans: The Judas Contract

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This article is about the animated film. For the comic-book story arc, see The Judas Contract.
Teen Titans: The Judas Contract
Promotional poster
Directed bySam Liu
Screenplay byErnie Altbacker
Story byErnie Altbacker
Produced byJames Tucker
Starring
Edited byChristopher D. Lozinski
Music byFrederik Wiedmann
Distributed byWarner Home Video
Release dates
  • March 31, 2017 (2017-03-31) (WonderCon)
  • April 4, 2017 (2017-04-04) (United States)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3.5 million

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract is a direct-to-video animated superhero film directed by Sam Liu from a screenplay by Ernie Altbacker based on The Judas Contract by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. It is the twenty-eighth film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series and is the sequel to Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016). The film features the voices of Christina Ricci, Taissa Farmiga, Miguel Ferrer, Stuart Allan, Brandon Soo Hoo, Jake T. Austin, Kari Wahlgren, and Sean Maher.[1]

This film marks Ferrer's final performance before his death from throat cancer at age 61. It had its world premiere at WonderCon on March 31, 2017. The film was released through digital download on April 4, 2017, and will be released through home media on April 18, 2017 by Warner Home Video.

Additionally in the film, Crispin Freeman, Jason Spisak and Masasa Moyo reprise their respective roles from Young Justice as Roy Harper/Speedy, Wally West/Kid Flash and Karen Beecher/Bumblebee in a flashback.

Plot

Five years ago, the original Teen Titans (Dick Grayson as Robin, Speedy, Kid Flash, Beast Boy and Bumblebee) rescue the Tamaran Princess Starfire from her captors sent by her evil sister, Blackfire. As she is no longer able to return to her planet, the Titans offer her a home on Earth.

In the present Dick Grayson (now Nightwing) rejoins the Titans to track down a terrorist cult led by Brother Blood, who plans on capturing the team to absorb their powers with a machine that he has tested on Jericho (whom his assistant, Mother Mayhem, quickly shoots afterwards). Blood hires the mercenary Deathstroke to deliver the Titans to him, which he obliges to do for both the money and the chance to get revenge on Damian Wayne. Deathstroke monitors the Titans through his double agent that joined the team a year prior, Terra, whom he rescued after her parents turned their whole village against her and tortured her. When Damian grows suspicious of Terra's behavior and starts tracking her, he is captured by her and Deathstroke.

Terra acts cold and distant towards the other Titans despite their welcoming attitude, but eventually warms up to them over time. During the night celebrating her one year anniversary with the Titans, she shares a tender moment with Beast Boy and kisses him. The next day, Deathstroke kidnaps Blue Beetle at the soup kitchen he works at, Beast Boy at a convention where he thought he would do a podcast with filmmaker Kevin Smith, and Starfire at the apartment shared by her and Nightwing. Dick discovers what happened to the other Titans and is attacked by Deathstroke at his apartment. He manages to escape by faking his own death, while Terra captures Raven.

Deathstroke and Terra bring the Titans to Brother Blood, but since the machine cannot operate properly without a sixth Titan (as Slade failed to capture Nightwing), Slade offers him Terra instead. Blood starts draining the Titans of their powers, but they are rescued by Nightwing. Nightwing and Robin fight Deathstroke while the rest take on Brother Blood (who has absorbed all of their powers). The two villains are stopped by the intervention of Terra, who is enraged at Slade for his betrayal. Blood is depowered by Raven and killed by Mother Mayhem while Deathstroke is buried underneath multiple rocks thrown by Terra. Too ashamed to face her former friends/allies after betraying their trust, Terra decides to bring down the entire area. Beast Boy attempts to assist Terra in escaping the crumbling fortress, but Terra pushes him back and is buried underneath multiple layers of rubble. Beast Boy digs her up and she dies in his arms.

In the epilogue, Beast Boy goes on Kevin Smith's podcast and talks about the Titans with the host. He mentions that the team has a "wonderful" new member and that he will miss Terra. In a post-credits scene, Jericho is shown to have survived the bullet Mother Mayhem shot at him earlier.

Voice cast

Differences between the comics and film

The plot is relatively faithful to the original comic, but does have some differences with character usage.

  • In the comic, H.I.V.E. hires Deathstroke to capture the Titans. In the film, he is hired by Brother Blood, who runs H.I.V.E. Brother Blood uses the same machine to drain the powers of the Titans, but he instead uses it to power himself.
  • Cyborg and Donna Troy were omitted in the plot despite being Titans at the time in the comics. This is likely due to the film's continuity, as Cyborg is part of the Justice League, and Donna doesn't join the Titans until after the event happens. They are replaced by Blue Beetle and Damian Wayne. Deathstroke's capture of Blue Beetle (electrifying a metal chair) was the same way he captured Cyborg in the comics.
  • Jericho and his mother, Adeline Kane, played key roles in the climax in the comic. In the film, Adeline is completely omitted, and Jericho is only used as a test subject for Brother Blood's machine.
  • Dick Grayson is already Nightwing in this film, whereas the Judas Contract comic featured his debut as Nightwing.
  • Deathstroke's reasoning for taking the contract in the comic is to get revenge on the Titans for the death of his son, Grant Wilson. In the film, Deathstroke takes the contract to get revenge on Damian Wayne for foiling his plans in Son of Batman.
  • Terra's character is altered in the adaptation. In the comic, she acts friendly towards the Titans while harboring a deep hatred for them and wanted them dead from her own insanity. In the adaptation, she acts antisocial towards the Titans, but eventually warms up to them over time and even valued her kiss with Beast Boy.
  • In the film, Terra's motivation to kill Slade and bring the whole building down is from Slade betraying her by giving her up to Brother Blood. In the original comic, she wanted to kill everyone out of blind rage after seeing Slade's affection towards his son, Joseph. In the adaptation she prevents Beast Boy from reaching her in time in order to save his life.

Production

An adaptation of The Judas Contract was planned as the third in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series, to be released after Superman: Doomsday (2007) and Justice League: The New Frontier (2008),[2] however, this was later shelved.[3] It was to be based on 1984's "The Judas Contract" story featured in Tales of the Teen Titans #42–44, and Teen Titans Annual #3 by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.[4] Warner Bros. Animation's writer/producer Bruce Timm confirmed in April 2010 that there were no current plans to revive the project.[5] In July 2016, however, Warner Bros. announced that the project had officially been resurfaced as Teen Titans: The Judas Contract and will serve as the sequel to Justice League vs. Teen Titans.[6][7] In January 2017, it was announced that Farmiga, Austin, Wahlgren, Soo Hoo, Allan and Maher, would reprise their roles, and Christina Ricci and Miguel Ferrer would join the cast as Terra and Deathstroke, respectively.[8]

Distribution

Marketing

In January 2017, the first promotional images from the film were released By The Hollywood Reporter.[8] In early February 2017, the first official trailer for Teen Titans: The Judas Contract was released, as well as an exclusive clip from the film.[9][10]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Los Angeles WonderCon on March 31, 2017. Teen Titans: The Judas Contract was then released via digital download on April 4, 2017, and is scheduled to be released straight-to-DVD and Blu-ray on April 18, 2017.[11]

Reception

Jesse Schedeen of IGN gave the film a 6.2/10 rating, writing, "The film loses too much of what makes the source material memorable, while the limited run-time prevents the writers from fully taking advantage of the team dynamic or properly fleshing out the villains."[12] Julian Roman of MovieWeb called the film a "marked improvement" over Justice League vs. Teen Titans and wrote, "The film slickly integrates adult themes into its entertaining plotline. The Judas Contract is action packed and moves at a fast pace. The Teen Titans are certainly on better footing here."[13]

References

  1. ^ Lovett, Jamie (February 8, 2017). "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract Trailer Released". ComicBook.com. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  2. ^ "DC Universe DVD Releases Coming from Warner Bros". MovieWeb. July 24, 2006. Archived from the original on August 31, 2006. Retrieved August 31, 2006.
  3. ^ Harvey, James (February 28, 2008). ""Teen Titans: The Judas Contract" Animated Feature On Hold". WorldsFinestOnline.com. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  4. ^ "'Comics Buyer's Guide' Fan Awards Archives". CBGxtra.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 16, 2008.
  5. ^ Marnell, Blair (April 27, 2010). ""Green Lantern" And "Wonder Woman" Animated Sequels Aren't Happening, Says Bruce Timm". MTV. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  6. ^ "Top 5 Easter Eggs in 'Justice League vs. Teen Titans' That Reveal More About the DC Animated Universe". Moviepilot. March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  7. ^ Damore, Meagan (July 23, 2016). "SDCC: "Justice League Dark" Animated Film Confirmed; "Teen Titans" & More Announced". Comic Book Resources.
  8. ^ a b Kit, Borys (January 19, 2017). "Christina Ricci, Miguel Ferrer Join Voice Cast of 'Teen Titans' Animated Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  9. ^ Harvey, Jim (February 8, 2017). ""Teen Titans: The Judas Contract" Trailer, Video Clip Released". WorldsFinestOnline.com. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  10. ^ "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract Clip & Synopsis". Cosmic Book News. February 10, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  11. ^ "TEEN TITANS: THE JUDAS CONTRACT Release Date, Blu-Ray Cover Art And Full Voice Cast Revealed". Comic Book Movie. February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  12. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (April 7, 2017). "Teen Titans: The Judas Contract Review". IGN. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  13. ^ Roman, Julian (April 6, 2017). "Teen Titans: Judas Contract Review: A Fast, Fun DC Animated Movie". MovieWeb. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
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