It’s been one of the funnier quotes from an actor I’ve seen recently, but I think it sums up very much the feeling towards one of DC’s premiere characters in cinematic format:
“If Robin crops up in one of the new Batman films, I’ll be chaining myself up somewhere and refusing to go to work.”
This comes from Christian Bale, the star of Batman Begins and its soon to be released sequel The Dark Knight.
And I couldn’t be further behind Bale on this one, despite my love for Dick Grayson and Robin.
However, the point that has to be made is that it is the comic version that people like, and the movie version that people have an issue with. Jeph Loeb, author of the fan-favorite Batman comic Dark Victory, came to The Boy Wonder’s defense.
“Take the time to tell the story properly,” he told
MTV News. “There is a story of Dick Grayson and how he becomes Robin that is extremely moving and very helpful.”
This is important, because the comic book Robin makes perfect sense, but could not be introduced into Christopher Nolan‘s films anytime soon.
“I wouldn’t let him become Robin until the third act, if that. I think that’s the other problem when you tell that story is that there’s this rush to put him in a costume by the end of the first 20 minutes and in that case I think it’s a disaster.”
We know that Nolan and Bale are only in this for a trilogy, and apparently nothing will change Nolan’s mind on the matter. However, we’re not so sure about Bale’s commitment and he very well could be convinced of a Robin-involved movie for a fourth or fifth installment? Why do I say that? Because take a guess at what one of Bale’s favorite Batman comics is…
That’s right, it’s Dark Victory.
