When the Doom Patrol come to the DC Universe streaming service, they will be bringing at least one very familiar face with them: Cyborg, a member of the Justice League in the comics and the DC Extended Universe.
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The character, who will also appear in Teen Titans Go To the Movies, will apparently provide an impetus for the Doom Patrol‘s initial mission, according to the series’ official synopsis.
According to Warner Bros Television, the Doom Patrol series “is a re-imagining of one of DC’s most beloved group of outcast Super Heroes: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl and Crazy Jane, led by modern-day mad scientist Dr. Niles Caulder (The Chief). The Doom Patrol‘s members each suffered horrible accidents that gave them superhuman abilities — but also left them scarred and disfigured. Traumatized and downtrodden, the team found purpose through The Chief, who brought them together to investigate the weirdest phenomena in existence — and to protect Earth from what they find. Part support group, part Super Hero team, the Doom Patrol is a band of super-powered freaks who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them. Picking up after the events of Titans, Doom Patrol will find these reluctant heroes in a place they never expected to be, called to action by none other than Cyborg, who comes to them with a mission hard to refuse, but with a warning that is hard to ignore: their lives will never, ever be the same.”
In the comics, Cyborg has a long history with the Teen Titans and Titans, leading fans to wonder whether the character might appear on the upcoming Titans TV show out of which Doom Patrol will spin off. There is no indication as yet that he will appear, or if he does that he will play a significant role.
Cyborg joined the Justice League when DC rebooted their publishing line in 2011, following the events of Flashpoint. His history with the Titans is somewhat muddy in the current comics continuity.
Casting has not yet been officially announced for Doom Patrol, although it is likely safe to assume that the same actors who will play Doom Patrol on Titans will carry over. That would be Bruno Bichir as The Chief, Jake Michaels as Robotman, and April Bowlby as Elasti-Girl.
There is no word on who might play Cyborg, a character depicted in the movies by Ray Fisher. While Marvel’s TV series take place within the shared cinematic universe of their movies, DC has thus far kept a wall up between TV and movies. This has reportedly taken some characters “off the table” for use in TV, but other characters — most notably Superman and Bruce Wayne — have been recast with different actors and used on TV shows simultaneously with their big-screen appearances.
The most likely scenario is that Cyborg will join that list.
The character is expected to have a solo movie starring Fisher in theaters in 2020.
The one-hour drama comes from executive producers Greg Berlanti, Geoff Johns, Jeremy Carver, and Sarah Schechter . The pilot was written by Carver.
The original Doom Patrol was created by Arnold Drake, Bob Haney, and Bruno Premiani in 1963. “The World’s Strangest Heroes” originally consisted of The Chief, Robotman, Elasti-Girl, and Negative Man. Given their lack of cultural acceptance within the DC Universe, the strange-looking characters, and a mentor in a wheelchair, the team has often been compared to Marvel’s more successful X-Men franchise.
Titans will launch on the DC streaming service later this year, along with the animated series Young Justice: Outsiders, Swamp Thing, and more. Doom Patrol will follow Titans.
