‘Titans’ Season 4: Kory/Starfire Has Greater Leadership Role

When Titans Season 4 begins streaming this Thursday on HBO Max, it will instantly become apparent to viewers that Koriand’r aka Kory aka Starfire has stepped into a greater leadership role, as a true partner to Dick Grayson/Nightwing.

Needless to say, Kory (played by original cast member Anna Diop) getting her due is well overdue.

In Season 1, Koriand’r struggled with her cosmic powers and what her role as Starfire on Earth would be, while a chunk of Season 2 found her kidnapped by a fellow Tamaranean, and Season 3 had her locking horns with kid sis Komand’r aka Blackfire — all storylines that developed the character, yes, but didn’t do much in the way of positioning her as a leader of the Titans team.

But just look at the first photo of Titus Welliver’s Lex Luthor that was released (below), and consider the fact that Starfire is the first team member to take a meeting with the mighty megalomaniac in the season premiere. That, along with the other early episodes screened by TVLine, speaks volumes about where the character stands in Season 4.

Titans boss Greg Walker raves that Anna Diop is “terrific” in her Season 4 premiere scene with Titus Welliver’s Lex Luthor

Titans showrunner Greg Walker, as part of an upcoming, in-depth TVLine Q&A about Season 4, affirms that Kory “for sure” is now a true partner to Dick (Brenton Thwaites) as they deal with Lex and other threats, including Mother Mayhem (Franka Potente) and Brother Blood (Joseph Morgan).

As Walker explains it, “Dick’s issues with Bruce were so profound” over the first three seasons “that they often blocked him off to people. He still had humanity — and that’s really why we like Dick Grayson, and how he’s different from Robin in a lot of ways — but he wasn’t quite yet ready to lead the team in a way that allowed for him to co-lead.”

But now that Dick has put Gotham City quite literally in the rear view mirror at the close of last season’s finale, as the Titans made tracks for San Francisco, “This is a year where you really felt like it’s a two-hander for the two of them (Dick and Kory),” Walker notes. “It’s the right time for it.”

Not that co-leading the Titans team will make the superhero life one smidgen easier for Kory! As Walker warns that in addition to Rachel, Connor and Gar (played by Teagan Croft, Joshua Orpin and Ryan Potter) all having to deal with their own heavy-duty stuff this season, “Kory is put through the wringer, too.”

Titans Season 4 launches Thursday, Nov. 3 with its first two episodes, followed by weekly episodes releases through Dec. 1; an additional six episodes will be released in 2023.

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