Taissa Farmiga on Raven’s Journey Through Justice League Dark: Apokolips War

Taissa Farmiga may have become a much more visible star in Hollywood over the last few years, with movies like The Mule and The Nun, as well as a turn on American Horror Story. But this week, she will see one of her longest-running roles — that of Raven in DC’s animated universe of movies — draw to a close. After having taken the part six years ago, Farmiga’s turn as the purple-haired Teen Titan wraps up with today’s release of Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, which brings together a star-studded cast of actors from a number of DC Universe animated projects for an Endgame or “Crisis on Infinite Earths”-style culmination of a number of ongoing stories in what is being billed as the final installment in an ongoing continuity that began with 2013’s Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.

For Farmiga’s part, she started on Justice League vs. Teen Titans, then played the role twice more: in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract and Justice League Dark: Apokolips War. In the latter, she’s more than just one of the Titans — she is treated as essentially an equal with Superman, and the idea of a a romance with Damian Wayne lingers over her the whole time. And ultimately, in spite of Raven’s reputation as something of an “emo” character, she was very much a beacon of hope in a dark world in Apokolips War.

“I think that’s really inspiring just in general, especially at this time in the world,” Farmiga told ComicBook.com. “But one thing I’d say is that she has a black and white outlook on life. She’s a bit of a realist, like ‘it is what it is.’ So I think in a time where things are so dark, you have no choice but to balance it out. Like if the world needs more hope, if it needs more light, she’s there. She’s giving it with her sass and her sarcastic wit, but she’s going to give it what it needs.”

This movie was pretty massive, both in terms of cast and concept — and it contains adapted elements from some stories that probably nobody ever thought they would see DC bring to life onscreen. Taking in a concept — and a cast — that big is a big task, especially for Farmiga, whose exposure to the DC Universe came primarily from watching the original Teen Titans cartoon when she was younger.

“I do two passes. The first pass, I read, and I just read it like I would a normal script. And I’m like, ‘What the hell is going on?’” Farmiga joked. “But then I’ll go back, and I’ll just have another Google tab open. And I’ll type in the name of the creatures or the name of the superheroes or villains, and, ‘Okay, what do they look like again? What’s their story?’ Especially right before we started recording, I was like, ‘Okay, I want a better sense of it,’ because when you go in the booth, there’s no real visualizations or anything. You’ve got the script, you’ve got some other people in the booth with you, you’ve got the voice director. And then you’re just there and left to your imagination. So I try to do a little bit of research while I’m reading, at least pull up pictures so you can reference it. I’ll say it can be a bit confusing, but it’s fun. You’re just thrown into the world, and you just have to believe and accept whatever it is.”

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War is available today on streaming video on demand platforms. It will be available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray on May 19.