Fans of DC comics have seen many characters take up the mantle of Robin over the years. With radically different personalities, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, and more have assisted the scowl in a cowl over the years.
One of the most successful fan series on Youtube, with over 35,000 subscribers, is Red Hood: The Fan Series, which is currently gearing up to launch its third season. The show follows Jason Todd after he dons the titular "red hood," as well as exploring Damian Wayne's Robin and several other DC characters.
In anticipation of Season 3, we spoke exclusively with the cast of Red Hood. We chatted with Ian Lang, the mastermind behind the show who also plays Red Hood/Jason Todd. We also talked with 14-year-old Ashton Myler, who portrays Damian Wayne/Robin in addition to Nadav Jackson, who plays Colin Todd/Red Bird, an original character created for the series.
We chat about many topics, including what we've seen in the show so far and what's ahead. My sometimes co-host, JVL, also came on to pose some other questions!
If you're interested in hearing the audio component of our chat with Red Hood: The Fan Series actors Ian Lang, Ashton Myler, and Nadav Jackson, you can do so via the podcast player embedded below.
Literary Joe: Was Colin Todd, son of Jason Todd, created for the show?
Ian Lang: He was, yeah! He's an original character. He's not in any comic lore or anything like that, but he could be! That would be awesome. I'm not going to say DC should check out our stuff, but I mean, that'd be cool, for sure.
Literary Joe: Yeah, you guys have quite a few subscribers, so it's picking up steam.
Ian Lang: We're trying man, we're trying. We're always pushing. When cons were on, we were going to cons dressed up and just having fun with people. It's amazing because even with a relatively small fan-base, the people are just so cool, and so welcoming, and warming, and inviting. I'm shocked anytime we do a Kickstarter or anything. Because we always blow it out of the water.
Literary Joe: So, were you guys looking for somebody short for Damian Wayne, then?
Ian Lang: Not necessarily. We were just looking for who could portray the character the best. Ashton is just a fantastic young actor, and we work well together.
Ashton Myler: Thank you, yeah. It's really fun to play Robin.
JVL: If you could give us a brief introduction of the Red Hood fan series itself for anyone who's not aware.
Ian Lang: Yeah, so, Red Hood: The Fan Series was created out of love for the Red Hood and the Robins. I am a huge Red Hood fan, I've been a big Nightwing fan forever, and just a big fan of the Robin lore. Everybody knows Batman. Everybody's a fan of Batman. Well, I shouldn't say everybody, but we know how that goes. But, a lot of people are fans of Robins. And, for me, I have always really enjoyed the times that we get to see the Robins interacting with each other, and being like brothers, and spending time not only fighting crime but also relationally interacting with each other. So, this show was just kind of created as a fun way to explore these characters and explore their relationships together, and to mess around with friends and family and make something cool.
Literary Joe: You play the Red Hood, but what all do you contribute to this? Can you break down the team behind the show for us?
Ian Lang: So, yeah, Ashton plays Damian, Nadav plays Colin, we have a couple other actors and cosplayers that play characters. We have a couple of guys behind the scenes -- Ryan, Josh, Zach -- to help us shoot things. We have some fantastic stunt coordinators and some awesome stunt guys that do some cool stuff. If you guys haven't seen it yet, we just dropped a sneak peek. Our Batman scene just dropped a couple of hours ago, so definitely check that out. Other than that, I pretty much do everything else. (Laughs) So, writing, directing, editing, acting, all of that stuff is kind of a passion project for me, and people seem to like it. So, we're just going to keep going with it.
Literary Joe: So, I know there's three seasons, but when did this whole Red Hood fan series begin? When did you start working on this project?
Ian Lang: I started working on it about three years ago. I had seen the Under the Red Hood animated movie back in 2012, 2013, or something like that. And, I thought it was so great, especially that end scene where he's like "Oh, this is the best day of my life!" and you know what's going to happen after; I just really resonated with that movie, and I always wanted to do a Bat-family show. And somewhere down the line a few years ago, I had a chance to collaborate with a few people and get the first couple of episodes made. Since then, we've had some changes in staffing, and all that kind of stuff, as productions go all the time. But, yeah, we just tried to make something fun and have a good time, and make something cool that people like. And then we brought on Nadav last year and Ashton last year. Except, Ashton, last year, did not play Damian. He played the Red Power Ranger, Jason, in our Power Rangers/Red Hood crossover episode. So, yeah, we just kept bringing on new actors and new cosplayers, and it just kept growing into the monster that it is now.
Literary Joe: Do you seek cosplay actors, or do you seek cosplayers and then just kind of teach them how to act as they go?
Ian Lang: It depends on what the role is. I try to find people that fit the role more than people who have a cool suit or something like that. Because, as you guys know, there are a lot of cosplayers that have awesome costumes, but they have weird voices, or no chemistry on screen. It's one of those delicate balances that we have to figure out who's good for the role. Ashton is not a Damian Wayne cosplayer. Nadav is not a Colin Todd cosplayer because that doesn't really exist. Well, not yet! I mean, that'd be awesome. Anybody that sees this come on, jump on it. Colin Todd! But yeah, they're young actors, so it's a balance. We've got some actors, we've got some cosplayers. Just whoever fits best in the role?
JVL: Yeah, so I was going to ask, just between Ashton and Nadav, do you guys have plans to cosplay in the future, now that you've been in costume as these characters. Will you go on some con appearances here and there?
Ashton Myler: It definitely would be cool. The costume is insane. It's cool.
Literary Joe: Do you do a lot of your stunts?
Ian Lang: Yeah, all of us do all of our own stunts. What do you think about that, Ashton? What's some of your favorite stunt stuff to do?
Literary Joe: Nice, I want to talk a little bit about comics versus cartoons. What do you think you pull from more?
Ian Lang: I would say it's both. I think the main influence for this particular show is the Rebirth Jason. So definitely, the character inspiration was pulled mostly from the newer comics. Less so the Lewis run of Red Hood Outlaw and more Red Hood and the Outlaws, where Jason's kind of becoming a leader, and becoming more Batman-esque. Less killing, more big-brotherly, fatherly sort of thing. That's kind of where our show kind of fits in the Jason character. The Damian character is pretty much straight from the comics. Do you feel like that's how you play him Ashton?
Ashton Myler: That's how I try to play him. Like, I try to make him a little bit of, like my own spin. Like, a little bit more happy, but more serious when it comes to the times you really need to be.
Literary Joe: Damian might be one of the most serious Robins, regardless of his age.
Ian Lang: Yeah, and that's hard for Ashton, because Ashton is always happy, he's excited. That exuberance, he's all about it.
Ashton Myler: Yeah, so I'm trying to find the perfect balance between the two of them, and I keep changing to make the character better and feel right.
Literary Joe: You gotta work on that frown! How familiar were you with Damian Wayne before landing the role? Is that something that you had to do a lot of research on, Ashton?
Ashton Myler: I've known a lot about the Robins, and I love the stuff that they do. But I still had to do some research into Damian Wayne. And the more I research, he's definitely my most favorite Robin out all of them.
Ian Lang: Hey, come on now! What's this? So, I think that question is really interestingly posed to Nadav, because his character doesn't have any lore or backstory to it.
Literary Joe: Nadav, obviously you're the spawn, or the offspring, of Red Hood. Can you explain a little bit about your character and his motivations?
Nadav Jackson: Yeah, so, technically I'm from an Earth called Earth-70, and Red Hood is from Earth-7. So, he was visiting Earth-70 and there was a Red Hood on my Earth. So, my dad was also part of the Robins, in my Earth. He died when I was a lot younger. Then my dad from another Earth comes to visit, and it's pretty awkward in Season 2, and then it starts to turn into more of a father/son relationship.
Literary Joe: So then, he's technically not your dad?
Nadav Jackson: Technically, no, he's not.
Literary Joe: Okay, that's interesting. I saw a couple different episodes of Season One. So, do we see two different versions of Red Hood then? Do we see the Earth-70 version at all?
Ian Lang: The Earth-70 Jason Todd had died prior to the Earth-7 Jason Todd visiting. No, we didn't have any flashbacks. We left it a little bit ambiguous, kind of on purpose. I won't say anything more than that.
JVL: I was going to ask, so we know that Ashton has a background in martial arts and gymnastics. Do either of the two of you have martial arts or any other backgrounds that contribute to your performances?
Ian Lang: Yeah, I have martial arts and gymnastics also.
Nadav Jackson: I started gymnastics like a year and a half to two years ago, but then COVID kind of shut it all down.
Ian Lang: But we're still kicking! We're still trying to make Red Hood!
Literary Joe: So, have there been appearances by any of the other Robins in the series, or will there be?
Ian Lang: Yeah, one of our main characters in the show is Tim Drake, Red Robin. The major three are Tim, Jason, and Damien. And I won't spoil it for you, but Nightwing is coming back, but not quite in the form that you would expect. And we're blessed to have Danny Shepherd from Ismahawk's Nightwing series play Nightwing. It's the first time he's played Nightwing on our show. They have probably the second most successful fan series.
Literary Joe: Are you guys currently in Season 3, or is it already done?
Ashton Myler: We just put up the trailer.
Literary Joe: Oh! So it hasn't come out yet. I must have seen the trailer. I'm curious, do you pull any inspiration from other DC comics or just other books in general?
Ian Lang: Yeah, for sure. We try to steep our characters pretty heavily in Rebirth mythology. Because I think Rebirth has some of the strongest characters. New 52 is pretty good, but Rebirth, for me, is where a lot of characters hit their strides. So I pulled a lot from there. In terms of other comics, we're Bat-family heavy. So, in Season 2, we had some other characters. We had Kyle Rayner. We had a couple of other characters. We referenced Huntress, so there's a little Birds of Prey action. We had Harley Quinn. We had the Joker. So there are some other influences. Court of Owls has been our main focus for two seasons so far, and about half of the third season. But we've got big Bane coming!
Literary Joe: What other villains would you like to adapt that haven't been pulled in? Because Batman has such a rich Rogue's Gallery. The only hero that even compares is Spider-Man. So, you've got a lot of the big names already, but I'm curious about some of the more obscure villains that you want to bring in?
Ian Lang: So, Nadav, who's your favorite Batman villain that you'd like to see in the show?
Nadav Jackson: Batman villain? Pretty much Joker, because I saw the movie, and it was a crazy movie. But it just seems like a really great villain to fight, but I also like Bane a lot.
Ian Lang: So we've got your two favorites, so that's good. Ashton, can you think of any other villains you'd like to see?
Ashton Myler: I would like to see Man-Bat.
Ian Lang: Oh! Okay! Going full mutant on us.
Literary Joe: He's trying to pick the most expensive thing he can for you.
Ian Lang: Exactly, because he doesn't have to pay for it. He doesn't have to pay for the CGI or the ridiculous costume that that would be.
JVL: Ashton, you couldn't say, Calendar Man?
Ian Lang: (Laughs) Yeah, Calendar Man! Kite Man! No, that one would be hard too.
Literary Joe: You could probably get a cosplay actor to do a pretty good Two-Face.
Ian Lang: Yeah, a lot of people have talked about Two-Face. Probably the villain that I want the most is Riddler. Yeah, I love the Riddler. So, if we did like a Season 5, I would want to do Riddler and Scarecrow. One can do the legwork, and one sits behind the computer, you know? But this season is pretty crazy. We're starting the season chasing after Talon to wrap up the Court of Owls. Deathstroke shows up. We've got to fight Deathstroke. And then Bane comes in there, and we've gotta fight Bane. And you may or may not see some Ra's Al Ghul in there at the end. So we've got a lot of villains, and lots of cool stuff.
Literary Joe: So, if you were to do another fan series, is there something that you've got on deck that you want to pull out? Or are you mostly focused on the Batman universe?
Ian Lang: So, right now, we're focused on the Batman universe and everything that we're doing with Ninja Kidz. And after this particular fan series, we've got some really big opportunities that we're going to be working with some streaming services and eventually doing an animated series, so there are several kinds of huge things coming on the horizon. So I'm not sure if we're going to be able to do any more fan series after this. But if I were able to, I would do Super Sons. Super Sons is my style, it's my humor, and I know some fantastic young actors that can play the Super Sons.
*This interview has been edited for clarity.*
Never-Before-Seen Sneak Peek of The Batman as he takes down the Red Hood gang, running guns for the now crime boss Jason Todd AKA The Red Hood! Will Batman recover his former Robin? Or will he have to take him down!? Find out when Episode 1 of Season 3 of Red Hood Fan Series drops this September! In honor of DC Fandome this week, here is a sneak peek!
Following the events of seasons 1 and 2, Jason Todd (Ian Lang) finds himself questioning his superhero roots and yearning to put The Batman and Robin days behind him. Being pulled back into the fray by his younger brother Damian Wayne (Son of Bruce Wayne - Ashton Myler) and current Robin, they must solve the mystery of The Court of Owls, and find their former partner and brother Richard Grayson (Nightwing) who is rumored to have become the new Talon. Little do they know, that a much more nefarious evil looms over Gotham City, the unstoppable force of Bane. Can they defeat one of the strongest villains of The Batman? Or will they need the Justice League on their side!?
You can catch up on Red Hood: The Fan Series here ahead of September's Season 3 release.