The CW Exec Teases More DC Animation Projects on CW Seed

CW Seed, a website where The CW hosts original webseries along with reruns of classic TV series (primarily from Warner Bros. and CBS), has plans to develop more animated shows based on characters from DC. The video platform has already hosted stories based on characters like Vixen, John Constantine, and the Freedom Fighters. While some of the series — Vixen and Freedom Fighters: The Ray — are explicitly part of the Arrowverse canon, others (including Deathstroke and Constantine: City of Demons) are not. While The CW promised more to come in 2020 and 2021, they stopped short of saying what characters would be involved and whether it would tie to existing Arrowverse properties.

The announcement came during The CW’s virtual upfront presentation, where they also announced the 2021 TV season schedule and released a few nuggets of information about upcoming shows. The first priority is to complete the already-in-progress Deathstroke series starring Michael Chiklis.

“We do projects for CW Seed with DC Animation,” Rick Haskins, President of Streaming and Chief Branding officer, told reporters on Thursday. “Our next one, Deathstroke, is going to be up on CW Seed in the next couple of months. We’re definitely in discussions with them to do two more for next year. Absolutely, animation is part and parcel of our DNA on CW Seed.”

The Deathstroke series mentioned is Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons, the first episode of which debuted in January. The series serves as an origin story of sorts for the character, who has appeared in live action on Arrow, Titans, and in the Justice League movie.

The CW Seed series up to this point have been a cross-platform success, with Vixen, Constantine, and Freedom Fighters: The Ray all getting DVD, Blu-ray, and digital releases as a “movie” after the conclusion of the series. The movies are separate from the timeline that just ended with Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, which had been going for Warner Home Entertainment since 2013’s Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.

You can see the Deathstroke synopsis below.

Ten years ago, Slade Wilson — aka the super-assassin called Deathstroke — made a tragic mistake and his wife and son paid a terrible price. Now, a decade later, Wilson’s family is threatened once again by the murderous Jackal and the terrorists of H.IV.E. Can Deathstroke atone for the sins of the past — or will his family pay the ultimate price?

Written by J.M. DeMatteis (CW Seed’s Constantine: City of Demons) and directed by Sung Jin Ahn (Niko and the Sword of Light), Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons is an animated DC series from Blue Ribbon Content and executive produced by Sam Register (DC Super Hero Girls, Mike Tyson Mysteries), and the Arrowverse’s Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.