In Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse, Lex Luthor wields an ancient Kryptonian power and unites the world's supervillains to capture the DC Universe's heroes. With only the fan-favourite DC Super Hero Girls left to stop the Legion of Doom, the team must cross dimensions to rescue their fellow superheroes from the Phantom Zone, but a fortuitous wrong turn leads them to Titans Tower...where they find much-needed allies in the iconic Teen Titans!
That's the premise of this awesome blockbuster event, and we can promise you'll have an absolute riot with this hilarious, action-packed crossover. Ahead of its Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD release on May 24, iconic Beast Boy actor Greg Cipes was kind enough to take the time to talk about this project.
The actor has played the superhero in projects like Teen Titans, Teen Titans Go!, and Young Justice, making Beast Boy his own in the process. Greg is also known for bringing Michelangelo to life in the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series that premiered back in 2012.
In this interview, we get a lot of fascinating insights from Greg on what it's been like to bring Beast Boy to life as he explains what exactly this role means to him. He also addresses why this character continues to resonate with fans across multiple TV shows, reveals the sort of creative freedom he's given in the recording booth, and shares his hopes for a Teen Titans Go! To The Movies sequel.
By 2024, you’ll have been playing Beast Boy for two decades, but what has this Teen Titans Go! iteration of the character come to mean to you over the years? What a run you’ve had.
Thank you. I helped create Beast Boy. Being the first actor to bring him to life, I made him who he is along with the great writers and people from Warner Bros. who allowed me to co-create this character over the past twenty years. There’s never been a more special situation that I’ve been in and I’m so grateful. He’s part of my life in so many dimensions and forms and inspires me just as I inspire him. It’s quite a dance me and Beast Boy have together.
Given that you play multiple versions of the character, you’re appealing to a vast array of fans; how does your approach to playing this iteration of Beast Boy differ from something like Young Justice?
Well, they’re different parts of my personality and the vast experience of emotional things I’ve been through in my life. I get to basically access these things and use them to bring Beast Boy to life in an authentic and real way. That’s why people resonate with Beast Boy and love him so much in his many forms, whether it’s older children like us, the eternal youth, or the younger generation. Generation Z. And everything in-between. There’s a Beast Boy for everybody that I’ve been able to bring to life.
Beast Boy is a great character and has a very unique set of superpowers, but what about those transformations do you enjoy exploring as an actor?
For me, animals and children are the pure ones. To be able to tap into the innocence and great qualities that children and animals have for Beast Boy is one of the most important parts of who he is. He’s wild and free and gets to tap into all these different animal forms. Each animal has its own superpower and he utilises the variety of those animal forms to dance with and springboard off for any situation. He’s the coolest superhero you could ever hope to play. The fact he can turn into any animal who has walked the face of the Earth is amazing. Animals to me are real-life superheroes.
For you, what’s it like to be able to play around with the in-jokes and meta-commentary and say the things only the Teen Titans Go! could get away with?
Warner Bros. gives me so much creative freedom to be very playful and to explore all the different realms Beast Boy now gets to live in, whether it’s Young Justice or Teen Titans or DC Super Hero Girls or Teen Titans Go! Whatever it may be. That creative freedom I’m allowed to play with is also a big part of what’s made it so special.
You have made this character your own, so talking of freedom, are you able to improvise a lot and bring your own personality into the character?
Yeah, they definitely give me the ability to be as playful as I want and to bring whatever I want to the character, whether it’s writing music for the show or coming up with episode ideas. A lot of collaboration has gone into the creation and success of Teen Titans Go! and all these different shows. They trust me as Beast Boy. They allow me to continue to bring him to life in all the different realms.
Of course, you also get to sing as Beast Boy again here for that Beegees-inspired, 70s or 80s-style track, so what was that experience like for you?
I loved the ability to explore all the different genres of music as Beast Boy. I wrote songs called ‘Don’t Fiddle With It,’ ‘Fade Away,’ ‘BBRAE,’ and other songs that are all very different and all come from different genres, whether it’s country music or rap or rock ‘n roll or reggae. That’s one of the special things about this show and these characters; we get to play with everything and different kinds of music. For me, I don’t like just one kind of music. I like all good music.
What have you enjoyed most about these crossovers with the DC Super Hero Girls characters and how much fun was it to throw the Multiverse into the mix this time?
It’s very special because I love the fact that Beast Boy and the Teen Titans get to interact with the whole DC Universe. This was a really special one with all the DC Super Hero Girls. The kind of dynamic brings to light a whole other dimension of our characters, and to interact and play with these great characters meant we got to show more of who we are.
This is an action-packed role, but how animated and into that do you get in the recording booth? Are those fight scenes quite easy to portray through your voice by now?
I’ve definitely had so much experience of bringing characters to life for so long as a voice actor that I can definitely be very expressive and wild in front of the microphone. My main inspiration is my dog, Wingman. He’s always in my lap and always with me. Recording sessions, every Comic-Con, business meeting…every everything. He’s with me right now on my lap. He’s the other Titan [Laughs].
I know you alluded to this before, but having spent so much time playing Beast Boy, what is it about the character you think resonates with fans of all ages?
I think it’s the fact he turns into every animal is a big part of what makes him so appealing. People love animals first and foremost. The fact I’m green is a big deal. Green is one of the most popular colours on planet Earth. Green is the colour of the healing vibrational frequency of Earth. Green is the colour of the green heart chakra. Beast Boy is maybe the biggest personification of what that colour represents and I think that’s a powerful situation to be in to present green and all that comes with it [Laughs].
You also got to play Beast Boy in a big screen adventure, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, so are you hoping a sequel to that might materialise down the line?
I’m really hoping for a lot more big, theatrical Teen Titans Go! releases. That’s what I’m hoping for and I know the fans want it. I’m praying it’s just a matter of time before we have more theatrical releases.
The Multiverse opens the door to endless possibilities, but how much fun do you think it would be to maybe get all the different Beast Boys you’ve played together on screen? How do you see that playing out?
[Laughs] There’s no stopping us then! All the different Beast Boys. I think with a movie like this and the ability to have so much creative freedom, everything is possible. How we come together as a group of Beast Boys, superheroes, or a global community that love superheroes as an audience…we’re just really spreading positivity and creativity by enjoying and being a fan of this franchise and the characters.
ALSO READ: Interview With Bumblebee Voice Actor Kimberly Brooks
ALSO READ: Interview With Screenwriter Jase Ricci
ALSO READ: Interview With Aquaman & Lex Luthor Voice Actor Will Friedle
ALSO READ: Interview With Co-Director Matt Peters
ALSO READ: Interview With Cyborg Voice Actor Khary Payton
ALSO READ: Interview With Jessica Cruz Voice Actor Myrna Velasco
ALSO READ: Interview With Supervising Producer James Tucker
Teen Titans Go! & DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem in the Multiverse is available on Digital, Blu-ray & DVD on May 24. The movie event also premieres on Cartoon Network on May 28 and starts streaming on HBO Max beginning June 28!