Titans star Joseph Morgan says the DC streaming series' upcoming fourth season will effectively serve as an origin story for his villainous character, Brother Blood.
"Hello, everyone. I thought I'd give you an update on Titans Season 4," Morgan said in a video posted online. "So, I have started shooting. We're currently shooting Episodes 1 and 2 simultaneously. And what's been hugely enjoyable for me -- in fact, this is the reason that I wanted to do this part in the first place -- is, as you know, I'm playing a character called Brother Blood. But that's not where he starts off. He starts his journey as Sebastian Sangre."
The actor continued, "It's really an origin story of a villain that we're playing out here. And so, what's been incredibly rewarding for me -- and will continue to be, I think -- is exploring how he gets from being Sebastian to becoming Brother Blood."
It was first announced back in January that Morgan -- known for his role as Niklaus "Klaus" Mikaelson on The Vampire Diaries and The Originals -- had joined the cast of HBO Max's Titans Season 4 as Brother Blood, a prominent villain from DC's Teen Titans comic books. Morgan is joined by fellow series newcomers Franka Potente and Lisa Ambalavanar, who will play May Bennett/Mother Mayhem and Jinx, respectively.
Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the original Brother Blood, Sebastian Blood VIII, first appeared in 1982's The New Teen Titans #21. Sebastian Blood VIII was killed and succeeded as Brother Blood by his son, Sebastian Blood IX, who was created by Judd Winick and ChrisCross, first appearing in 2003's Outsiders #6.
Brother Blood served as the main antagonist of the third season of Cartoon Network's Teen Titans animated series, in which he was voiced by John DiMaggio. DiMaggio subsequently reprised his role in the Teen Titans Go! spinoff series. The character was later voiced by Gregg Henry in the animated film Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.
As far as live-action is concerned, Brother Blood was previously portrayed by Kevin Alejandro on The CW's Arrow. This is especially noteworthy, as -- based on Morgan's words -- it seems as though Titans is remixing certain aspects of Brother Blood's origin from Arrow. In the CW series, Sebastian Sangre was the name of Sebastian Blood's abusive father. The HBO Max show, meanwhile, is apparently repurposing the name for Blood himself.
The first three seasons of Titans are streaming on HBO Max. Season 4 does not currently have a release date.
Source: Joseph Morgan, via Twitter