Chris O'Donnell was going to play Nightwing

Chris O'Donnell was going to play Nightwing

Twenty years after the release of ''Batman Forever'', the former Robin actor tells ETOnline about a possible spin-off that nearly happened!

By MrFantastic - Jun 23, 2015 07:06 AM EST
Filed Under: Batman
Source: ETOnline.com
 
Chris O'Donnell has been a dedicated actor, steadily working on film and television for over two decades. While he is currently known for his role on ''NCIS: Los Angeles'', he is also remembered for his portrayal of Dick Grayson/Robin in the Joel Schumacher Batman films, but he almost got his own spin-off movie as Nightwing.

In an exclusive ETOnline article, O'Donnell looks back on the Burton-Schumacher franchise, his thoughts on playing Dick in ''Batman Forever'' and ''Batman & Robin'', where he could have gone with the role and how people reacted to the  Bat-franchise. Previously, in 2012, O'Donnell revealed on ''Access Hollywood'' that Warner Brothers had been developing plans to give his character a spin-off film, but the idea was scrapped after ''Batman & Robin'' proved to be a commercial and critical disappointment.

 

What's most interesting is that that the proposed film intended to show Dick Grayson's evolution from Robin to Nightwing. According to screenwriter Mark Protosevich, Warner Brothers had plans for another Batman trilogy that would be much darker than the Schumacher films. Since Grayson was to be absent from the second film, he would return as Nightwing in the third installment. O'Donnell confirms that Dick would have changed aliases and grown into his own identity as a crimefighting vigilante.

"Yeah there was at one point: ''Nightwing''. When the reviews came out on Batman & Robin, that was shut down immediately," he says, reflecting on the spin-off. "This is has been a great opportunity for me, and I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was an amazing opportunity and gave me incredible international exposure."

On a humorous side note, O'Donnell reveals that he still has one of the Robin costumes in a wooden crate down in his basement. "Honestly, my kids have never seen it," he jokes. "They're like, '"When are you going to open that thing?"' And I go, '"When I find a screwdriver."' It may have decomposed in there for all I know."

Although the ''Nightwing'' spin-off never happened, it is fascinating to wonder what might have been. Recently, however, TNT has announced plans for a ''Titans'' television series that is expected to feature Dick Grayson as he becomes Nightwing. Perhaps this one will fly again.
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Saga
Saga - 6/23/2015, 11:02 AM
He wasnt that bad in Forever
Nicipoo
Nicipoo - 6/23/2015, 12:11 PM
I would've watched him as Nightwing as long as Schumacher wasn't attached.
LEVITIKUZ
LEVITIKUZ - 6/23/2015, 12:32 PM
He was Nightwing except he had a cape and was called Robin

MrFantastic
MrFantastic - 6/23/2015, 1:01 PM
@ DrDoom

Good question! I wonder if it would have featured the outlandish elements of the franchise- like vehicles going up walls, Bat-credit cards, Bat-nipples, Bat-buttocks, etc. Lol.....

@ Gusto

Agreed. A Nightwing spinoff would be have been cool, but they would have had to make Dick older than a teenager. O'Donnell was 24 when cast as Robin, turned 25 upon Batman Forever's release and was 27 when Batman and Robin debuted. He was looking long in the tooth, so being Nightwing would have given him a chance to grow up and act more adult.
Wannabe
Wannabe - 6/23/2015, 1:16 PM
Hoping they do a Nightwing film in the DCCU.
BlackIceJoe
BlackIceJoe - 6/23/2015, 2:09 PM
I hope the new DCCU will have Nightwing in it, I'd also want him to use the blue suit too.
MrFantastic
MrFantastic - 6/30/2015, 6:39 PM
@ TheDemonsHead

I think Nightwing could work in the DCCU- if done correctly. They'd need to establish Dick as being Robin in the first film he appears, have him fall out with Batman and go off to become a solo vigilante. From there, he'd develop his own identity, the costume, etc.

Theoretically, Nightwing has potential in a feature film, but I'd rather see them do him justice rather than rush it.
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