I'm surprised Comicvine hasn't put up anything about the news that the next Batman movie may not come out till 2019 now as WB wants to get a Superman trilogy done first but as I read about this I also wondered if the next Batman film (which is being called a reboot but I hope does not mean an origin story) should bring Dick Grayson back to the silver screen.

I get why Nolan didn't use him or any other Robin in his trilogy. It was too dark and Nolan went for too much of a "Batman in the real-world" to also include a 10 year old kicking the crap of adults and superpowered opponents. He was correct in that call given the nature of his trilogy.

But if WB/DC can finally achieve the correct balance of real-world feel with comic book staples (as I think Marvel has done up to this point) with Man of Steel and continue that into its future products than I think this opens the ability to bring Dick Grayson into the next Batman film franchise.

However, I think three big things would need to happen to ensure the character is done correctly. One, don't show the death of his family or make their death a part of the next film. Just like the next film should not include Batman's origins or the start of his career (particularly if Justice League comes out first as the Batman movie proceeding it should simply continue the established movie timeline rather than be a prequel) we also don't need to see Dick's origins outside of a few comments or a quick flashback. He should already be in the manor, already know Bruce's identity, and already be helping him by running the computers in the Batcave to relay information and analysis.Two, he should not be Robin in the next film but he should be receiving training from Bruce. This would highlight a key point about Bruce and Dick's relationship that is continuously mentioned in the comics but not in other media forms.....Bruce didn't want Dick to become a crime-fighter when he took him in. He trained him in order to give him an outlet for his anger and pain rather than dwell on it as Bruce did. The film should emphasize this by also making a point that Dick is Bruce's apprentice/protege at Wayne Enterprises. He's at meetings, he's putting together documents, he's gaining a skill to become his own person rather than Bruce's sidekick or replacement as Batman. That leads me into point 3; Dick should be about no younger than 17 and no older than 20 in the first film. Though that's re-treading on what some complained about when Chris O'Donnell was cast as Dick, even with more comic book staples thrown into a new Batman film I still think Nolan had a point about not using a kid to be Batman's sidekick. Having him a little older would highlight the fact he's been with Bruce and Alfred for at least a few years (either immediately at the start of Bruce's career or even just before his official debut as Batman) and is at a stage of his life where the film could have some nice tension between Bruce and Dick about Bruce's idea for his future in business and going his own way and Dick's inclination to aid Bruce in his war on crime, foreshadowing his later roles in follow-on films.

With these three points in place it wouldn't be till at least the second Batman film that Dick would actually become Robin. Which leads me into a second question and my last thought. Should a new Robin follow the traditional design of the comics, not the bare legs and pixie boots I'm talking the bright red, yellow, and green with a cape and domino mask? In my opinion I would say no, the costume should be changed a bit more than just covering more of the body. It should echo Dick's background and style of fighting even more than the comics did. To that effect it could be a good idea to lose the cape and give the new film Robin a look more in-line with his Nightwing look but in the traditional red, yellow, and green color scheme (and obviously symbol) of Robin. This would highlight that at his core Dick is an acrobat and thus would not want the cape to interfere with his movements, which is why he never worn one as Nightwing. As this new version would make him older than the comics at the start of his career, it would make sense his Robin appearance would be more a reflection of himself than a copy of Bruce's Batsuit. My second recommendation would be the new look include a full cowl, similar to the Red Robin look, but that may be stretching it a bit too much from the source material.

On a side note: If the new Batman films were successful enough to progress Dick into Nightwing (maybe with his own film) and bring in Tim Drake as the new Robin I do think Tim's suit should include a cape because he's far more like Bruce in habit and style than Dick is.

But what do you all think? Should the next Batman film include Dick Grayson? Would it be better to introduce him in a second or third film (in which case I would not make him Robin in the same film he's introduced in order to emphasis his training period)?