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Robin hasn't substantially appeared in all recent Batman movies, and is not expected to appear in the upcoming films as well. (I'm excluding the satirical The Lego Batman Movie, as well as the very end of The Dark Knight Rises.) What is the off-screen reason for this? Is there an expectation that a Batman movie with Robin can't be good?

I am looking for director's (or other staff's) quotes or other canon answer why Robin wasn't included as a main character, not theoretical or speculative reasons.

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    movies.stackexchange.com/a/732/25920
    – FuzzyBoots
    May 25, 2021 at 22:06
  • That doesn't address the Snyder films or the upcoming ones. Also explicitly doesn't include a quote, which I asked for.
    – TheAsh
    May 25, 2021 at 22:08
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    :) And, just to provide reference, at what point are you stating the "modern" films? My first thought was "Oh, so everything after Adam West?" :-D
    – FuzzyBoots
    May 25, 2021 at 22:11
  • Do you mean Dark Knight Rises?
    – NKCampbell
    May 25, 2021 at 22:21
  • production companies have control over decisions like these. they make decisions based on what they think is the right risk vs reward opportunities, which is why high-risk chances are rarely taken in Hollywood. a failure big-budget film can cripple a studio, so they often make decisions outside of the purview of the general public. in contrast, some director commentary is very consumer-facing, but directors don't have full creative control, which ultimately is held by the producers. they may view Robin as a risky move (for a variety of reasons), but never tell the public.
    – FluffyFlareon
    May 30, 2021 at 7:55

1 Answer 1

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For a quote from Christopher Nolan as to why Robin is not in his trilogy (except the reference in the end of the third film):

“Dick Grayson’s still in a crib somewhere. I seriously doubt I will even be involved when Robin’s in the franchise.” – Christopher Nolan

Specifically (and I don't have a quote onhand at the moment), Nolan's films were patterned after Batman: Year One, where he's just starting out, and hasn't met Robin.

In comparison, the Batman of the Snyder films seems to be set in a post-Robin phase, after the death of Dick Grayson, which he considered pivotal in Batman's personality.

Rather than showing an ongoing partnership, Snyder's version of Robin was meant to be more about the idea of Batman's younger ally. Snyder's Batman, at his core, is a spiritually and psychologically broken man, with his arc being one of his journey back to the hero he was by way of Superman and the Justice League. More to the point, how much Bruce Wayne had invested himself in Grayson's upbringing and how deeply his loss affected him was at the heart of the story of Bruce Wayne being portrayed by Ben Affleck, with Robin playing an emotional role in his story rather than a literal one.

Had he been able to film all of the movies he originally planned, Snyder did plan to introduce Robin.

I'd always wanted to explore the death of Robin. And if there ever was going to be a next movie, which, of course, there probably won’t be, I wanted to do a thing where in flashbacks we learn how Robin died, how Joker killed him and burned down Wayne Manor, and that whole thing that happened between he and Bruce.

So in short, the recent films are set before, and after, the period of Robin's existence, explaining his absence.

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    With the events of RoDK, I wonder how Robin would fit into the story, though, if Grayson is in a crib still. Wasn’t that film supposed to be years after TDK? Not to mention (....) isn’t in Gotham anymore (trying to avoid spoilers).
    – MissouriSpartan
    May 26, 2021 at 3:06
  • This is a pretty good answer, but its a more in-universe one. I am wondering why the directors deliberate chose to avoid the time when Robin was around.
    – TheAsh
    May 26, 2021 at 11:07
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    @TheAsh: I think the Snyder bit answers that question there, that he wanted the disillusioned Batman after Robin's death. For Nolan, it sounds like it was a studio decision to do the "Batman origin story" and he was one of two directors they looked at. Would providing that create a complete answer, or would you need a studio statement as to why they wanted to do an origin story? :)
    – FuzzyBoots
    May 26, 2021 at 12:38
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    @FuzzyBoots that would be a good answer. Thanks (What I really want (though I guess I should reask as a different question) a director's quote saying that "Robin in a movie would always suck" or something like that. But what I want as an answer isn't necessarily the truth.)
    – TheAsh
    May 26, 2021 at 13:18

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