To the delight of DC fans online, The Batman Part II has now entered pre-production ahead of its start date in early 2026. Director Matt Reeves and co-writer Mattson Tomlin have been secretive about what to expect from their Bat-sequel, but there’ve been rumors flying for some time now, with the most recent being that it’ll be darker—because of course it’ll be, and probably likened to Empire Strikes Back at some point—and will feature Robin, Batman’s sidekick.
If true, this will make for the third Bat-project to hit the silver screen with the Boy Wonder in tow. Also on deck are the animated stop-motion movie Dynamic Duo, which’ll focus on the first two Robins, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd; and Brave and the Bold, which will bring in Batman’s biological son Damian Wayne and likely feature other Batfamily members as well.
Certainly a far cry from how things used to be: after Batman & Robin, Batman’s younger half hasn’t been seen in live-action movies. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy didn’t really have a Robin to speak of—Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake is a fusion of Dick, Jason, and Jason’s successor Tim Drake, but is otherwise just some guy Bruce decided to christen Gotham’s protector, and Zack Snyder’s movies killed a Robin without really specifying which. Of them all, Dick has had the most play in expanded media thanks to animated shows and films like Lego Batman, Teen Titans (both versions), and Young Justice, with Damian a potential close second thanks to several recent animated movies, the adult series Harley Quinn, and Injustice 2. Fan-favorite Robin Tim and his successor/eventual girlfriend Stephanie Brown have been supporting players in Batman: The Animated Series or Titans and Young Justice, but haven’t really gotten full spotlights to themselves. And on the low end, Jason really only has Titans and the Under the Red Hood film to his name, while Damian’s sort of contemporary Duke Thomas is Robin in the preschool-focused Batwheels.
What changed DC’s mind to where they’ve got three Robin-starring projects hitting the big screen? You can put a lot of it on time: sooner or later, WB was going to have to commit to whether Batman was a solo act or had a whole entourage, and if so, how much. With Reeves’ Batman and the Brave version reportedly coming from The Flash director Andy Muschietti, Warner Bros. is trying to tackle the second question from both ends: Reeves’ version can show Bruce gradually getting a handle on himself to raise a singular young person to help him fight crime, and Muschietti’s can show he’s come far enough to have a whole family that would follow him to hell and back. Whether those two cinematic versions link up, this dual approach theoretically hits the sweet spot of a mini-cinematic universe where WB can back out if one doesn’t resonate with audiences, or tout the success of both if they can each pull their weight.
Speaking of pulling weight, there’s been a lot of Batman-adjacent media in the past few years. Villains like Joker and Harley Quinn (both individually and as a double act) have gotten their own solo projects, ditto the Penguin and eventually Clayface. The same goes for his allies; Dick, Jason, and Tim were all in Titans, while Jim Gordon and Alfred Pennyworth have headlined their own individual live-action projects, Gotham and Pennyworth. (Gotham is a slight cheat, since a young Bruce Wayne is its co-lead and it eventually becomes a Batman prequel.) Batgirl could’ve been another addition, but with the movie canceled and locked away, WB seems to have felt Robin is a better candidate—likely helped by there being nearly 10 people associated with that name and a small roadmap to work with.
Each Robin incarnation shows how versatile and vital the mantle is, and it’s likely why WB is preparing to let multiple versions run around on the big screen. The underappreciated Blue Beetle felt like the studio’s first real stab at introducing audiences to a young hero in the vein of Ms. Marvel or Spider-Man, which have since become household names and a hit with younger viewers. To WB’s credit, Superman had some young blood in Supergirl and Hawkgirl, but those two are in their early or mid-20s, and their youth isn’t the selling point in the way it was for Kamala Khan or Peter Parker. After spending decades avoiding Robin, there’s no choice but to embrace him: regardless of who’s wearing the domino mask and green pants, a Robin is defined by how young they are. Dynamic Duo, Brave and the Bold, and the Teen Titans movie can hit different sects of the youth demographic in the same way Batman’s been doing for years.
This always could’ve happened with Robin, just as it could’ve with Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and anyone else in DC’s massive roster. WB’s biggest problem is often itself, particularly as it pertains to superheroes, and especially when it comes to Batman. But as much of a missed opportunity it’s been to go so long without a core part of the character’s history on the big screen, whichever of these Robin-led projects hits first will feel like a proper event. This new era of DC movies is a mix of projects meant to give audiences what they’ve wanted and some things it might not have known it’d like to see. Lucky for them, Robin falls neatly into both categories.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
