Raised in Haly’s Circus as a skilled trapeze artist, Dick Grayson studied under Batman for years as the first Robin until maturing into the hero called Nightwing. He would eventually assume his mentor’s role for a short term, but recently reclaimed the identity of Nightwing upon Bruce Wayne's return.
OK, my fellow fraternal fanboys, let us pool our considerable comic book intellects to ponder this notion:
In this day and age, what actor holds the best chance of successfully playing the Original Boy Wonder? Previous Robins were played by thespians who neither emphasized the cheeriness nor the exact physique of our favorite acrobat. Age also appears to be a trait not translated with much faith; former Daring Boys on the Flying Trapeze never played Grayson as their own age. Meanwhile, the twenty-nine year old Joseph Gordon-Levitt, riding a continent-sized air thermal of success, embodies the present-day Man Wonder with seemingly-effortless success. At 5'9.5'' and possessing a smile that would pull the panties off a bride moments before her wedding day, can anyone imagine Gordon-Levitt not working wonders (see what I did there?) with a pair of escrima sticks?
Now before users start throwing their arms up in a huff, the ideal Grayson, as interpreted by the Inception star, would not appear in the highly-anticipated The Dark Knight Rises. Indeed, after the success of the hardboiled, Nolan-led Batman trilogy, it seems only fair to give Gordon-Levitt a chance Grayson in his current garb. That's right: Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Dick Grayson, Batman of Gotham.
Skeptical? Reluctant to consider? Well then, chew over these benefits:
1. Gordon-Levitt possesses similar proportions to Grayson.
2. Damian Wayne would finally be brought to the big screen. Kick-Ass (2010) already set the precedent for hyper-violent tots with the penchant of conjuring up many-a-bone fracture, so the filmmakers handling the project would have a considerable range of leeway as far as special-effects.
3. Morrison aficonados infatuated with his run on Batman and Robin would finally get the chance to see the favorite heroes and villains materialize on film, which leads us to the next point......
4. The onscreen debut of Professor Pyg. 'Nuff said.
1) JGL is already in DKR - so another role in the franchise would be redundant. (Unless you are Chris Evans or John Favreau) 2) He is too old to play Dick Grayson. 3) Dick hasn't had enough story development in any of the movies... so the plot comes from out of left field. 4) In the hearts and minds of all fans... Bruce Wayne is and always will be Batman.
But let's look at your points: @VampireSelektor said:
1. Gordon-Levitt possesses similar proportions to Grayson.
2. Damian Wayne would finally be brought to the big screen. Kick-Ass (2010) already set the precedent for hyper-violent tots with the penchant of conjuring up many-a-bone fracture, so the filmmakers handling the project would have a considerable range of leeway as far as special-effects.
3. Morrison aficonados infatuated with his run on Batman and Robin would finally get the chance to see the favorite heroes and villains materialize on film, which leads us to the next point......
4. The onscreen debut of Professor Pyg. 'Nuff said'
1. That wouldn't matter, as Grayson hasn't been established well enough.
2. What does Damian Wayne have to do with this? - More importantly, there has been absolutely no set-up for the character at all, so very few people will actually know who he is or what has happened to the "actual" Batman and Robin.
3. That is honestly not a good enough reason to make a multi-million dollar movie... especially when there are far more reasons why it shouldn't be made.
4. Again that is very much not a good enough reason... there are plenty of villains who deserve to be in a Batman movie... the only reason they aren't used is because they are not widely known in mainstream audiences and when it comes to movies... they are considered much more important than comic fans.
He's to old to play Grayson, he doesn't have the right look for Dick either.
And besides if you want to see dick and Damian as batman and Robin just go watch the knights of tommorow episode and it even has them punching professor pyg! Look that's good enough, and it doesn't cost millions of dollars.
He would be a 29-year old playing a ... what, 27-year old? 28-year old? But, in hindsight, he may be more of a fit for Tim Drake, especially given his role in Brick, although I'm still somewhat sold on him as Dick.
Interesting geek film fantasy, but the long and short of it is Bruce Wayne is Batman in the eyes of the general movie-going public. They won't make a Batman movie with anyone else in the lead. If producers insist on adding Robin (Grayson, Drake or any other incarnation), they should go with Noah Ringer. He's 13 right now, he'd be 16 by 2014 and he's already shown himself to be a competent screen fighter. No argument that The Last Airbender was a steaming pile of poo, but he was okay in it and his performance was not what killed that film franchise. He's in this year's Cowboys and Aliens, so hopefully that will redeem him. With hair he even looks the part.
" He would be a 29-year old playing a ... what, 27-year old? 28-year old?"
But the premise of your suggested movie is still wrong... he would be playing Batman... instead of Robin. The character needs to grow from Robin, to Nightwing and that hasn't happened yet.
@VampireSelektor said:
"But, in hindsight, he may be more of a fit for Tim Drake, especially given his role in Brick, although I'm still somewhat sold on him as Dick."
Ok... What? - Dick is older than Tim... so that would Levitt would be way too old to play him... he is more suited to Nightwing than anything... but not Batman or Robin.
Surely Robin would be a baby... I mean Barbara is still pre-teen and she's a good couple of years older than Dick. If he was to be in the new movie, he would have to be a child, like in the comics, not a fully grown adult who looks about the same age as Christian Bale.
"We don't even know if Barbara exists in that universe."
In the Dark Knight, Commissioner Gordon has two children, James Gordon Jr and an unnamed daughter... she is presumed to be Barbara. @CrimsonAvenger said:
"The story could take place years after TDK ended"
Nolan has said that the story takes place pretty much straight after TDK.
Um, the film I was dreaming of would exist in an universe separate with Nolan's Gotham. And yes, I know, Robin hasn't depicted in either Batman Begins or The Dark Knight, which is fine considering the fact that brightly-colored sidekicks aren't a staple of crime films. Nevertheless, I can't think of anyone else at the moment who could play the current version of Dick Grayson.
Maybe but he's already playing Mario Falcone in The Dark Knight Rises. People are also saying he's too old but if he was to play Dick Grayson as an older Nightwing or something.
I doubt this would be the role Levitt would be playing during the movie, but at the same time... I don't understand how he's too old to play the role of an older Dick Grayson who's in his late 20s masquerading around as Batman...
I don't understand how fanboys could even consider Gordon-Levitt for the role of Nightwing when Christopher Nolan publicly refused to include Dick Grayson in the films. I doubt Nolan would pull a Wolverine: Origins.
@mistersarcastic: He also looks really young for his age(31). Most "teen" actors are usually in their 20's anyways, so the fact that JGL preserves his youthhood so well is a blessing in this case. Doesn't even have to be a Nolan movie...and it's still not technically Robin so whatev :P
@thechessclub: Neat blog. You're casting choices are top notch
Why thank you=] You should totally say so on the blogs themselves tho if nothing more than for the benefit of the 'bump.' Also, I'm in the middle of doing another one right now. So check back if you wanna see who I have aimed to don the cowl of everybodys favorite urban myth=D
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