According to Wilx (via Den of Geek), a location called Grand Ledge is being scouted for The Dark Knight Rises. The article in question claims, “the area is being considered as a hideout for Batman sidekick Robin”.
Before you reach indignantly for your batarangs, remember the pinch – the warehouse – of salt. These rumours have yet to be supported, let alone confirmed, and the sources are anything but reliable. That said, I nevertheless find myself more and more interested in this trilogy ending instalment.
While Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale have remained stalwart in their decision to avoid the sidekick’s inclusion in their rebooted franchise, the slew of characters and actors recently confirmed for the second sequel have the project’s fanbase asking questions. Set to include a hulking “venom” addict and burglar granted superpowers by a cat, and with Joseph Gordon-Levitt also signed in an unknown role, might those involved have actually had a change of heart?
Here’s the controversy: I’m a Nolan doubter, you may have read about us in books. Put off by his tiresome obsession with grit, the solvent absence of humour and Christian Bale’s growlsome Bat-voice, I never expected I might be able put my grief to rest and anticipate one of his decidedly un-super superhero movies. Imagine my surprise when, just as the die-hard Nolanites were starting to raise their eyebrows at unexpected news of Bane and Anne Hathaway, I found myself disarmingly tantalised.
I realise that Robin (as played by Chris O’Donnel) might trigger unwanted memories involving the first generation of sequels and the campy television series – an apparently impossible fit for Nolan’s oh-so-serious reimagining. The truth is, however, that if Christopher Nolan is truly worth his salt, and is in fact the human embodiment of cool as I have been constantly assured, he should encounter no issue in finding a new and improved take on the character. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight may be commendable movies, but they are not infallible and Robin promises two things hitherto missing from Nolan’s movies: humour and heart.
It will probably come to nothing, I’ll be over here with the pickets, and The Dark Knight Rises will be the ‘masterpiece’ of realism and distractingly dorky outfits that everyone is hoping for, but the character would seem to fit the narrative so far: Bruce Wayne was convinced that he had found his White Knight – capable of finally ridding Gotham of corruption – but Harvey Dent unfortunately found himself Two-Faced and worse; in the comics, Bane (to be played by Tom Hardy in the new movie) is famous for finally besting the Bat and breaking his back; and at the end of the last movie, we left Wayne running into the distance without a friend in the world – at least not one that wasn’t now out to capture him. Alone and clearly out of his depth (it took him a whole movie to beat one man with a crippling psychosis), Robin could prove the foil and back-up needed to best Bane, Catwoman and whoever else Nolan inevitably chooses throws at your hero – and Gordon-Levitt could be the actor to pull it off.
Robin doesn’t necessarily bring “humour and heart”, it’s all in the application. It would be entirely dependant on how Nolan & co dealt with the character.
Every writer (Grant Morrison’s recent casting of Damian Wayne as Robin illustrates this well) and every director brings their own take to each character. There is weight of history dragging down every character but one of the most enjoyable aspects of Batman is that writers often completely ignore this and reinvent and adapt as they please.
All that said, this rumour will almost certainly soon be buried in that aforementioned mountain of salt.
They were in fact scouting locations for a new sitcom spin-off called ‘Robin’s Lair’ starring Chris O’Donnell a lá Joey. Burt Ward will be making a cameo appearance as the homo uncle.