We haven’t heard anything about ‘Nightwing’ in ages– not since February, in fact, when director Chris McKay vowed that if Warner Brothers wanted him off the project, they would have to fire him.
Well, good news! McKay hasn’t been fired yet. When questioned on Twitter, McKay responded that ‘Nightwing’ was still in the works, but “You’re going to have to wait tho.”
No. You’re going to have to wait tho. Keep hope alive. To paraphrase Dick Grayson: Nightwing lives. Always.
— Chris McKay (@buddboetticher) October 24, 2018
After the failure of ‘Justice League’ the buzz surrounding the onslaught of DC Comics movies suddenly went silent. But ‘Nightwing’ seemed a little further along than others. Technically, it was one of the only projects with a director attached, plus a completed first draft of a script, by Bill Dubuque (‘The Accountant’, ‘Ozark’).
But it was reportedly put on the back burner, and that still looks to be the case.
Also in February, it was reported that McKay was being eyed by Paramount to direct ‘Dungeons & Dragons’, which the studio, at that time, had slated to open on July 23rd, 2021. That might explain the delay on ‘Nightwing’, but now, it looks as though Rob Letterman (‘Goosebumps’) has landed the ‘D&D’ gig.
McKay hasn’t disclosed what his next directorial job will be, but as a producer, he is attached to ‘The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part’, which is currently in post-production, as well as the recently announced ‘Wile E. Coyote’ film.
And then there’s Warner Brothers’ little Batman conundrum. Nightwing is, of course, Dick Grayson, the original Robin. So a ‘Nightwing’ film would most likely involve Batman in some capacity, right? At this point… does WB even have a Batman? It’s known that Batman won’t appear in ‘Birds of Prey’, despite it being set in Gotham City. Plus, it seems like every week we’re hearing that Ben Affleck is out. Whether it’s by his decision or not fluctuates.
Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ is still in the scripting stage, but it is known that it features a younger Bruce Wayne, which means a new actor will have to be cast. And it’s not even clear whether that story will be set within the established DC film continuity. There had been rumors that if Todd Phillips’ definitely-out-of-continuity ‘Joker’ was a success, that WB might set ‘The Batman’ in that world. But from what I understand, Phillips wants ‘Joker’ to be 100% one-and-done. No sequels, no tie-ins.
But that doesn’t mean that ‘The Batman’ couldn’t also exist within its own reality, once again shunning the established storylines.
Maybe Warner Brothers wants to let the dust settle before determining where to go with a character that was once guaranteed box office gold. Maybe once they sort that out, they can determine what they want to do with tie-in characters.
Are you upset that ‘Nightwing’ appears to have been put on indefinite hold?
