DC Universe’s Titans: Deathstroke has been cast for season 2

Deathstroke has a new face on DC Universe’s Titans. Esai Morales has been cast as the comic book assassin for season two.

Deathstroke the Terminator is here! Again.

Veteran actor Esai Morales will be stepping into the role of the notorious assassin, Slade Wilson, for season two of the DC Universe show Titans. Morales is a familiar face to most, with credits including 1985’s La Bamba, NYPD: Blue, and more recently, NCIS: Los Angeles, and How to Get Away with Murder.

Deadline shared the character bio from the show producers:

"“Slade Wilson is known for being DC’s deadliest assassin. While serving his country, Slade became an elite soldier before government testing enhanced his physiology to near superhuman levels, putting him on a path of darkness and revenge. To his family, Slade is a father and husband, but to the rest of the world, he is feared by many as the infamous Deathstroke; selling his services to the highest bidder as the ruthless assassin that never gives up and never misses.”"

Morales feels like a left-field choice for Deathstroke since he isn’t known for action-centric roles. Could the Titans version of the character be retired?

Or perhaps, once the yellow and black mask is on, a stunt double will take over. However, given Morales’ body of work, fans should expect the unexpected when he steps into Slade Wilson’s shoes.

Deathstroke is a fan-favorite character, whose popularity continues to grow. Morales, therefore, has a tough task ahead of him, especially with Manu Bennett’s iconic performance as the same character on The CW’s Arrow still fresh in most viewers’ minds.

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With the exception of Joe Manganiello’s cameo appearance as Slade Wilson in Justice League, there have been a number of animated renditions of the character, almost all of whom have left an indelible mark on viewers.

Among DC animated shows and films, Ron Perlman and Will Arnett have both voiced the character on Teen Titans GO! properties, while Fred Tatasciore currently voices Slade Wilson on Young Justice: Outsiders.

It is great to see that Titans continues to diversify its cast. Morales has Puerto Rican origins, and rumors of casting calls for Latino/Asian actors with hearing impairments suggest that the Titans showrunners were looking to cast Joe Wilson/Jericho, the son of Slade.

It appears that once the Trigon arc has reached its fruition on season 2 of Titans, the show will move swiftly toward adapting a version of Judas Contract.

One would hope that showrunners will update the arc’s sensibilities as that story was written in the ’80s and has not aged as well as fans would have hoped.

Last month, Titans showrunners announced that Superboy had been cast for the second season. Joshua Orpin will be playing Conner Kent.