And the rumor wheel in the sky keeps on turning...
It appears that Jena Malone (Hunger Games) is rumored to be playing Barbara Gordon in the upcoming Batman v. Superman, and not Carrie Kelly as initially thought. I mean, why would we think that? The film's story is only adapted from THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and she only dyed her hair red and cut it...and she only looks the part and....okay, I think I can see why we might have thought that.
Well, if we aren't going to see her sporting the iconic red and green costume, then the question I have is who should? Welcome to Chamorro Cinema and today I'm talking Robin!
1. Dick Grayson
This is the Robin most people know and love from the classic comics and the 60's Batman TV Show. Dick Grayson was brought to life in the 1990's by Chris O'Donnell during the Shumacher era and was a bright spot in the otherwise crappy Batman Forever film.
After premiering in 1940 looking like Errol Flynn at Christmas, Dick Grayson remained Batman's Sidekick until the 1980's when he left to become Nightwing. He even donned the cowl in the early 2000's after Bruce gets stuck traveling through time.
This is the Sidekick I want in the BatFleck films - not as Robin, but as Nightwing! Based on the San Diego Comic Con trailer it appears that they have borrowed from the Death in the Family story line, which means that Jason Todd has already succeeded Dick Grayson as Robin and has been murdered by the Joker. This has had an obvious impact on Batman and he keeps Jason's costume in the bat cave and who better to help bring Bruce back from the heart of darkness than another member of the bat family. He could just be Dick Grayson (*Cough * Jared Padalecki * Cough) in BatFleck Begins:Dawn of the unfair comparison to the Nolan films and we can later see him as Nightwing, assisting during the climax before doing a solo film...of course that's once they've milked Bats for all he's worth. Not to mention his epic showdown with Jason in the "Battle For the Cowl" would make for some excellent material later down the road.2. Jason Todd
Jason Todd took over for Dick Grayson in the 80's as a red headed carbon copy (except his parents were murdered by Killer Croc). This was ret-conned after Crisis on Infinite Earths and he was rewritten as a brunette street orphan who tried to give the Batmobile the ol' chop shop treatment. He was harder edged than the lighthearted Dick Grayson and so beloved that the fans of the comics voted to kill him off. He later emerged as the Red Hood, who is pretty much the bat family version of the Punisher.
It appears that he is already dead during Batman v. Superman so not much of a chance that he will make an appearance as Robin. I would be interested in seeing him as the Red Hood, NOT AS THE JOKER, but it is a cool theory though.
3. Tim Drake
Tim Drake was a fanboy that got the chance to actually become Robin in 1989 after displaying his mean detective skills. Drake is the leader of Young Justice and the Teen Titans. He also is the Robin that stars in both of those cartoons. He eventually becomes Red Robin.
Tim is the most likely candidate for the big screen treatment of the boy wonder. Dylan O'Brien (or, you know, whoever) will have a lot of material to pull from in bringing this character to life. I think they will have the easiest time adapting this character, and when the time is right transitioning him to Red Robin, a TV series where he makes burgers served with endless fries. With Dick Grayson headlining the Titans TV Show for TNT he is the most logical least confusing choice.
4. Stephanie Brown
Tim Drake's love interest replaced him as the girl wonder after he quit. She was the only Robin to be "Fired" and was later killed by Black Mask. Since this is comic books, it was later revealed that her death was faked and she is now the new Batgirl.
Since it's rumored that Jena Malone is playing Batgirl/Oracle it's most likely that Stephanie and Barbara will be combined into one character. It allows Robin and Batgirl to be romantically involved and since we know Leto's Joker likes to hurt people really, really... bad, they can adapt the killing joke and we can get the same emotional resonance as Steph getting tortured and killed by Black Mask.
5. Damian Wayne
See "Snowballs Chance" or "Marvel secures X-Men Rights from Fox". This will not happen in the BatFleck film unless we start talking Batman VI: The Undiscovered Cash Grab. There is too much foundation work to be laid before we can bring Damian to the screen. We need to introduce the League of Assassins and Talia al Ghul, their relationship and her having his kid and the kid has to be old enough to become Robin. The only way this works is if the film ties into the Nolan trilogy and Marion Cotillard reprises the role, or we gloss over all that stuff and we pump a whole boatload of exposition into the movie.
Let me know what you think. Leave me a comment below, Subscribe to my channel on YouTube. You can also follow me on Twitter @ManuelMendiola, where I talk a lot about comics and the films that I love.
So keep it locked to Chamorro Cinema. Thank you for reading. PEACE!