5 Reasons Why DC Movies Cannot Get Robin Right
For most Robin fans, there have been hopes that we’ve seen growing that he might land up with his own solo film. The character was, however, teased in BvS: Dawn of Justice and then was mentioned in Suicide Squad. Obviously, it’s tough to go too far without our favorite sidekick, whether it’s on the obnoxiously infectious Teen Titans Go! or some of DC’s animated films like Justice League vs. Teen Titans or Batman vs. Robin. However, this is some false hope, and while we can witness Robin-related miracles, the truth is that DC has killed the chance of a Robin film altogether.
WHICH ROBIN TO CHOOSE?
One more issue with a Robin film is that there have way too many Robins. No matter the choice, it is always going to anger someone at Warner Bros.’ and also, DC’s fan base. They cannot go on and feature Jason Todd without having to explain how he has ascended back from the dead. They could also go with Dick Grayson as he is the original Robin. However, BvS gave us an older Dark Knight — by now, teen Dick Grayson would have grown into his adult persona, Nightwing. They can use Tim Drake, the third Robin, but it would be weird to have a movie about Boy Wonder without seeing anything about Todd or Dick Grayson. Then there’s also Damian Wayne, a controversial Robin who happens to be the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul.
Too much backstory
Another huge issue with a solo Robin film is the need to introduce DC fans to the character. The movies would need Robin to appear in one of the standalone Batman films. In order to do that, he should be introduced, and DC must do the whole origin thing so fans could understand who he really is. In the film, he needs to establish himself as popular enough to carry a film on his shoulders, doing so in the shadow of Oscar-winning Ben Affleck as Batman. Then, and only then, fans can get a standalone Robin movie.
However, the chances of this happening remain quite faint.
THE PROBLEM OF TONALITY
Many fans point to trigger-happy Batman in Dawn of Justice and conclude that Zack Snyder did have a Batman problem. When he’s screaming about Martha, he’s just a step away from the infamous All-Star Batman who usually proclaimed, “I’m the goddamn Batman.” But Synder doesn’t seem to have a Batman problem at all. In fact, he has a tone problem – a reason why there’s no room for a Robin film at all.
The ‘Age’ Problem
Age is somewhat of a moving target in comic books. While some characters are perpetually always at a certain age, others age at a weird pace (like young X-men are in their 30s now, but it is notable that it only took about five decades for them to age 18ish years). However, the age of our movie superheroes is more set in stone, but that presents a problem when it comes to a Robin movie.
For instance, if the film ends up being a prequel, it would mostly feature the iconic Robin that most comics fans are aware of: the teenage sidekick. This hints that a major multimillion-dollar tentpole would be headlined by a teenager.
DC Fans DO NOT want it!
The most direct reason that there won’t be a Robin film is that the DC fans don’t really want it. Historically, Robin has received strong opinions from the fans, with many of them being atrociously negative. For example, Jason Todd wasn’t actually killed by Zack Snyder. He was originally killed by fans.
