JANUARY 19, 2017 9:26am PT by Borys Kit
Christina Ricci, Miguel Ferrer Join Voice Cast of 'Teen Titans' Animated Movie (Exclusive)

Here is the first look at the original DC animated film 'Teen Titans: Judas Contract,' which will feature popular villain Deathstroke.

Christina Ricci and Miguel Ferrer are voice-starring in Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, the long-awaited DC Universe animated original movie from Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

The movie, being directed by Sam Liu (Justice League vs. Teen Titans) from a screenplay by Ernie Altbacker, adapts the classic storyline from Tales of the Teen Titans, one of DC's top comics in the 1980s. Ricci will play Teen Titans member Terra and Ferrer is voicing the mercenary villain Deathstroke.

Ricci and Ferrer are newcomers to the stable of the DC animated movies, a line that celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Titans will also see returning DC players Sean Maher, Kari Wahlgren, Jake T. Austin, Taissa Farmiga, Brandon Soo Hoo and Stuart Allan join the voice cast.

Teen Titans was DC's comic that went head-to-head with Marvel's Uncanny X-Men in the early 1980s in a time when both comics were outselling their companies' more established stars such as Batman and Spider-Man, respectively. Titans, under writer Marv Wolfman and penciller George Perez, hit a zenith with The Judas Contract storyline. It was the culmination of years of stories that saw the Titans — young heroes Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, Nightwing/Robin and Cyborg — face the betrayal of their teammate Terra. The young woman had partnered with Deathstroke to take down the team.

(The lineup of the animated movie, which is not a literal adaptation but takes a more "inspired by" approach, is slightly altered, as Cyborg is now a member of the Justice League in the comics and animated movies. Blue Beetle is among the new characters on the team.)

When the original lineup for the DC animated movies was announced in 2007, Titans was on the list, but the animated feature was put on the back burner as Warners and DC focused on core characters such as Superman, Green Lantern and especially Batman.

But in recent years, the Titans have surged in popularity thanks to Teen Titans Go, which is the Cartoon Network's top show. Deathstroke also has a higher quotient from being a key villain on CW's Arrow and now set to be a major villain in the next Batman live-action movie, which is being prepped with Ben Affleck wearing the cowl and sitting in the director's chair.

Sam Register is serving as executive producer of the film, with James Tucker as supervising producer and Alan Burnett as co-producer.