Chris O'Donnell's planned solo Robin spin-off could have offered his maligned take on the Boy Wonder some cinematic redemption. Robin was supposed to appear in the original Batman from 1989, with one version of the screenplay offering the character a small part. After The Joker killed his parents while escaping from Batman, the latter would have taken the grieving Dick Grayson back to Wayne Manor.
While being set to one side for most of the movie's second half, Robin would have eventually aided the Caped Crusader during the finale, including pulling him from the wreckage of the destroyed Batwing. Tim Burton's lack of interest in the character and budget cuts saw him removed. Marlon Wayans was later cast as Robin in Batman Returns, who would have been a teen mechanic who repairs the damaged Batmobile before helping Michael Keaton's Batman at the end. It was decided the sequel already had too many characters, so Robin was cut once more.
The character finally debuted in 1995's Batman & Robin. Echoing many critiques aimed at the maligned sequel, O'Donnell likened the making of the sequel to that of a toy commercial and believes it was produced far too quickly after Forever. Its financial performance also killed plans for a solo Robin movie starring O'Donnell, which could have addressed the issues with his character.
A Robin Movie Was Canned After Batman & Robin
Critics and Batman fans have little to say in the way of positives when discussing Chris O'Donnell's Robin. In both movies, his mix of macho arrogance and whininess with the fact he needs to be saved constantly does little to endear him to most viewers. O'Donnell has shown he's a solid actor with the right material, but the way Robin was written left him with little to work with. In 2012, O'Donnell confirmed that was talk of Robin getting his own spin-off, in addition to returning for an unproduced sequel dubbed Batman Unchained.
Of course, the bombing of Batman & Robin saw both projects derailed. Batman & Robin had already set up that the titular superheroes were having disagreements, so a Robin movie could have explored Dick leaving Gotham in search of his own identity. O'Donnell's Dick Grayson likely would have become Nightwing had the spin-off gone ahead instead of remaining Robin, with his suit in the 1997 movie already resembling his Nightwing outfit. The spin-off could have further explored Dick's repressed grief over the death of his family, and whether he wants to go down the superhero route forever, knowing the cost it's had on Bruce Wayne.
Robin is a character who tends to get dismissed a lot in popular culture, with even Christian Bale mocking the sidekick during his run with the Dark Knight trilogy. This is seemingly the reason the sidekick has yet to return in another big screen outing - though Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Blake was revealed to be a different take on Robin in Joel Schumacher-era take on the Boy Wonder.
