Rose and Thorn

Rose and Thorn is an upcoming American animated series created by Charise Castro Smith and produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios for Netflix. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, the series centers ln Rhosyn Forrest and Thorn Canton, two alters of a system with dissociative identity disorder, as they investigate their father's murder. The series stars Sarah-Nicole Robles, Eric Bauza, Clark Gregg, Alisha Taylor, Wendie Malick, and Keith David.

Development on a Rose and Thorn series would begin in early 2032, with Smith attached as showrunner. The series' cast would be announced by December 2033. Animation services would be ptovided by Studio Mir. Smith and the writers would draw inspiration mainly on Gail Simone's comic run, while consulting with psychiatrists in order to provide an accurate potrayal of DID. The writers also drew inspiration from the Cartoon Network Studios series Unicorn: Warriors Eternal for the series, particularly Rose / Thorn's arc.

The series would be released on December 2035 to positive review from critics, particularly for its writing, animation, themes, and vocal performances.

Synopsis
Years ago, young girl Rhosyn "Rose" Forrest saw her family being victims of crime, ultimately resulting in two years in therapy before being declared healthy... they couldn't be more wrong. As it turns out, the now-teenage Rose takes on a new name and actitude whenever she feeks stressed or goes to sleep. This alter, calling herself Thorn Canton, is hunting down those who hurt Rose. The two must find a way to balance their lives, as they discover horrible truths about their past.

Main cast

 * Sarah-Nicole Robles as Rose Forrest / Thorn Canton, a teenager vigilante with dissocistive identity disorder, one alter being the level-headed Rose and another bring the impulse Thorn.
 * Eric Bauza as Detective John Mercado, a cop investigating Thorn's activities.
 * Clark Gregg as Detective Curtis Leland, a corrupt cop and Mercado's partner, trying to cover-up "The 100"'s activities.
 * Alisha Taylor as Dr. Wendy Chritlow, Rose and Thorne's therapyst.
 * Kimberly Brooks as Elizabeth Forrest, Rose and Thorn's mother.
 * Keith David as The Director, the leader of "The 100".

Recurring cast

 * Chloe Bennet as Melinda, Rose's friend and classmate, who is put up by her strange behavior.
 * Kari Wahlgren as Skye, a popular girl Thorn befriends at school.
 * Brian Hull as Blackguard, an enforcer for "The 100".

Guest cast

 * Ming-Na Wen as Melinda's mother
 * Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen / Green Arrow, a wisecracking vigilante. Amell reprises his role from the Arrowverse.
 * Charlie Cox as Phil Forrest: Rose and Thorn's deceased father.

Animation
Animation services would be provided by Studio Mir, with Angela Sung serving as art director; she would be hired due to her work on DreamWorks' Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. The producers would aim for an art style reminiscent of anime, using Kipo as an inspiration.

According to showrunner Chesire Castro Smith, the producers drew inspirstion from the Marvel productions Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur for inspiration. She also said her main goal was to "use the medium of animation" as a way to visually represent "the thouugths and feelings" of people with dissociative identity disorder; artists first consulted with experts and people with DID regarding their knowledge on personal feelings and thougths, after which they would create ways to represent them visually without falling into stereotypes, such as the transitions between both alters, with extended transitions being represented "via a trippy and psychodelic" sequence, and instant transitions being depicted via a brief shot that uses the color covering the character to show who is fronting, with sky blue representing Rose and green representing Thorn. For scenes featuring Rose's repressed memories, animators wanted the visuals to be "sketchy, glitchy, blurry. You can't tell what they are showing", so the artists first drew the finished scenes, before adding redrawing them with "random lines" for when they appear in a scene as reppresed memories.

Trivia

 * Thorn's surname, Canton, is a reference to the original Rose, Rhosyn Canton.
 * Chloe Bennet's role as Melinda is a reference to her role as Quake in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., since "Melinda" was the first nane of her character's teammate, Agent May.
 * Keith David appears as African-American albino mob boss Tobias Whale / The Director; he voiced a similar role as Tombstone in The Spectacular Spider-Man.