MICHAEL KEATON RETURNS (or at least in discussion) AS BATMAN

[Vaibow]

Forget the logic behind it. Don't put realism here.
The starting point for the question is that Batman gets a Robin. An actual Robin that is, not just Dick Grayson.
Imagine what this Robin will be like, in a Burtonverse setting. How many changes would there be to him?
Similar to how Batman himself was altered from comic book page to Burton's vision?
That's what I meant when I asked about it yesterday

Burton can surely twist something about the character. But I wasn't fond of his idea for Robin to be a garage mechanic. I've just read about and it sounds really bad.
But the other thing mentioned in the article is that Burton's Robin would have been just as brooding as Bats himself. So a very different take than Schumacher's.

When we imagine a Burtonverse Robin, we don't have to follow every idea Burton had for the character. We can imagine what we want, as long as it fits the Burtonverse.
I would still have wanted him to have a background in acrobatics, somehow. But it can be presented in so many ways, we don't even have to show him perform at a circus.
A darker Grayson would suit the style of a gothic Gotham. Perhaps twisted visually to appear emo-like?
Too much? Yes, a bit. But remember the extent to which Penguin was twisted, and an emo-Robin isn't even halfway there.
No, he shouldn't go full emo with a lot of black make up. Not a clone of Brandon Lee in The Crow.
Grayson/Robin can be a little emo-lite, more on the inside than in his looks. Just a little emo-vibe from him is enough.

I would imagine this Grayson is moody, He could also have some attitude. Perhaps he's been homless for some time after the murder of his family, and has gotten a little street-wise?

In 1995, I can think of two actors that would have suited this kind of Burtonverse Robin. Unfortunately, Schumacher came onboard and camped things up.

I like that... a young version of the crow... being inspired by batman and going out there in spite of bruce... I can see that..

 

[Tg11]

A Burtonverse Dick would have to be either DiCaprio or Furlong

 

[Captain Tired]

Lol no

Burton would have cast someone like Wes Bentley.

The neurotic Robin to Michel Keaton's neurotic Batman.

 

[Airwings]

I like that... a young version of the crow... being inspired by batman and going out there in spite of bruce... I can see that..

Inspired by Crow, yes. But not the same look. It would have felt strange, as they would have come out so close to each other.

 

[Airwings]

A Burtonverse Dick would have to be either DiCaprio or Furlong

Yes, they would be the best choices. And most obvious ones.

But today I've been thinking a little more about it. They could have gone a few years younger for Robin and have the infamous Brad Renfro. With him, we would have gotten a kid as Robin, as it was always meant to be.
Renfro had attitude, and by 1995 he would have been tall enough for the character.

I suspect some might start to think of Elijah Wood now, because he was about to build a name for himself during mid 90s.
Now I will give my view on him as The Boy Wonder: NO!

Granted that he was no 1 back then, acting wise. He's even one of the most talented child actors since the 80s.
Say what you want about Renfro and his life, but when it's coming to playing Robin, and even more so as the Burtonized character is described in earlier posts, he was way above Elijah. Atleast in 95.
We can't have a Robin that looks so sensitive and frail as Elijah did. There's no way we will buy him able to fight crooks. Judging by his appearance back then, we will assume the wind blowing through the alleys is enough to defeat him. He did neither have the physical skills or the build to be Batman's sidekick. His Robin would have needed to wait in the car while Batman took care of the business.
Sorry for that, Elijah. You were sort if a "boy wonder" in real life instead.

 

[Eddie Dean]

There's already a Burton verse Dick Grayson. It's Marlon Wayans.

 

[Airwings]

There's already a Burton verse Dick Grayson. It's Marlon Wayans.

And I said we could imagine our own Burton-Robin and didn't have to follow everything Burton had planned for the character
But if you can't think of another actor at all, then go with Wayans

But it's sad that you lack the imagination to envision someone else

 

[The Guard]

There's no reason Burtonverse Batman couldn't have had multiple Robins...

Though one of them has to be Wayans.

 

[Airwings]

There's no reason Burtonverse Batman couldn't have had multiple Robins...

Though one of them has to be Wayans.

I'm talking about coming up with our own suggestions for Dick Grayson's Robin, not a any Robin.

Why does Marlon have to be one of the Robins? He never played the role, he's not canon.

 

[Eddie Dean]

He got paid for it.

 

[Airwings]

It seems like Robin could have been in the first Batman 1989. I have read about it. Some people in the production were thinking that Batman needs Robin there. So there were storyboards created with the character.
But in the end they went without him because the film would have been too crowded, and it's claimed Robin didn't suit the tone of the final film.

How Close Did Robin Come to Being in Tim Burton's Batman?

Never heard about that Ricky actor. A pic is showing a blond boy, that's some unusual Robin casting already there. It could be one of the ways Burton is twisting the character.

IF Robin had been included, already being a sidekick in the first film, playing a part of the plot, the film would have been quite different even if it had the same style/mood.

Not saying it would be better or worse. Just different.
If handled the right way, it could have worked somehow. Though it's hard for us to imagine another film than the one we got.

I got an amazing idea when it comes to a possible actor. It a kind of dream casting I want to share. Let me fantasize for a while. Bear with me!

They could have struck gold, just as with Nicholson, and have River Phoenix (!) as Dick Grayson/Robin!!!????
Holy fried beans, the thought of it is almost unspeakable. That could have been a bigger thing than getting DiCaprio in 95. Atleast in retrospect..
It wouldn't have been impossible either. The very same year, he was in the third Indiana Jones. So it's evident he wasn't against pure entertainment films.
But Robin would have been more awesome than the small part as young Indy. Because he would have a bigger role in the film, a part of the actual present day story. And with him onboard, the film could have become a more "major popcultural event" than it already is.
Somewhere in the multiverse, this happened. And it worked!!!!
That's why I got this idea

How would Phoenix have suited Burton's world?
I see that his take on Grayson could be as a 80s teen. Not the typical MVT pop dude, but a more edgy kind of person.
As he's blond too, he could have fleshed out what was first planned with Ricky, then go beyond that.

An imagine is now flashing through my mind, it's of Prince. It just came to me. Hmm, I wonder if Burton would have somewhat re-designed Robin's suit as one of his ways to twist the character.
The Burtonized suit could be mostly dark purple and black, but with perhaps a dark red or a dark green R (compared to the Batman logo's yellow background). That way he could be colorful to Bats while still having darker colors.
But since Joker's already purple, forget it!!!
And sorry if I destroyed your day with this Prince inspiration.

To be fair, the suit will have looked more or less similar to the one on Titans show. But more clean, less distracting details.
That's a reasonable design that still suits Burtonverse. And it's MUCH better than Schumacher's campy ideas with nipples.
Try to envision the blond actor in this, for the Burton twist. Maybe even a bit longer hair, as Phoenix had.

What's speaking against Phoenix is Burton himself. He was just starting out as a director, now about to do a tentpole flic. He might have thought of the actor as being too famous for the character, stealing too much of the show from Keaton. There were already a couple of movie stars onboard (Nicholson/Basinger), and that was enough.
If Robin was to be in the film, and not played by this Ricky guy, Burton would more likely have gone with others. But who?
Lets see if I can think of possible candidates around 1988 when the film was being shot.
Perhaps one of River's previous co-stars, Wil Wheaton (if he wasn't too busy with ST:TNG).... or Barret Oliver (who he cast in Frankenweenie).
Maybe you can come up with better actors?

 

[Spider-Fan83]

between the first 2 Batman movies Burton worked on Edward Scissorhands in 1990, with Anthony Michael Hall, tho at this point he was already in his 20s , but, was just starting to out grow his skinny nerd look, and bulked up a bit, was looking to rebrand his image away from stereotypical skinny nerd roles... Robin could have been an interesting role for him

1980's

1990s

 

[Captain Tired]

He's a bit too wide looking for Robin imo.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Marlon Wayans is Burton's Dick Grayson! He was cast! He was paid for it! He still gets residuals for it! Eddie Furlong could play Jason Todd or Elijah Wood could be Tim Drake for the Burtonverse, but the role of Dick Grayson belongs to Marlon Wayans!

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Marlon Wayans is Burton's Dick Grayson! He was cast! He was paid for it! He still gets residuals for it! Eddie Furlong could play Jason Todd or Elijah Wood could be Tim Drake for the Burtonverse, but the role of Dick Grayson belongs to Marlon Wayans!

I'd heard about his casting and payment, but I didn't know about the residuals! How the heck does that work?

 

[Eddie Dean]

Not sure, but he talks about it here: 'G.I. Joe' Star Marlon Wayans Still Getting Paid For Not Playing Robin In 'Batman Returns'

 

[Captain Tired]

I wasn't aware it was even possible for someone to be so hung up on the idea of Marlon Wayans as Robin. You pick the strangest of hills to die on, Dean.

 

[Eddie Dean]

He is Burton's Grayson! It's like if someone was asking "Who would play Joker in the Burtonverse?"

 

[Airwings]

Marlon Wayans is Burton's Dick Grayson! He was cast! He was paid for it! He still gets residuals for it! Eddie Furlong could play Jason Todd or Elijah Wood could be Tim Drake for the Burtonverse, but the role of Dick Grayson belongs to Marlon Wayans!

That logic can be applied on the Ricky actor as well. They created storyboards for Robin. The link claims Ricky was cast too. Doesn't Burtonverse's Grayson belong also to him?
Unless you're a really big fan of Marlon Wayans, there's no reason to defend him so much

Neither Ricky or Marlon ended up playing Dick Grayson in front of the camera. We never saw them playing the character. They are no more real than Burton doing a third film in the series. Which is another thing that could have happened.
You don't claim that Burton did three Batman films, do you?

So we are free to imagine any other actors we want. You are free to do it as well

My shortlist for Grayson's Robin in the third Burton film (that could have come out 1995) is
1. DiCaprio
2. Furlong
and just maybe
3. Renfro

My dream casting as Grayson in the first film is River Phoenix.

 

[Airwings]

He's a bit too wide looking for Robin imo.

Agree with you there. But maybe AMH playing Robin would be one of Burton's ways to tweak the character.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

He is Burton's Grayson! It's like if someone was asking "Who would play Joker in the Burtonverse?"

from what I understood... he was going to be "Robin" in in the same way Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake was Robin in literal name only... don't think it was ever said it was playing a character named Dick Grayson... just someone named Robin, who Bruce would let help fix up the Batmobile... or at least that's what I read, maybe there's more or different info out there

 

[Airwings]

from what I understood... he was going to be "Robin" in in the same way Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake was Robin in literal name only... don't think it was ever said it was playing a character named Dick Grayson... just someone named Robin, who Bruce would let help fix up the Batmobile... or at least that's what I read, maybe there's more or different info out there

I found this link

Marlon Wayans: Well, at least I got to meet Batman by FreakTerrorizes on DeviantArt

From the article:

Marlon Wayans wasn't going to be Dick Grayson nor any Robin. Andy Mangels reported in Amazing Heroes #196 (November 1991), "Marlon Wayans, the youngest brother of Keenan Ivory and Damon Wayans, will be starring as 'The Kid,' in a small role in the film Batman Returns. The 18 or 19-year-old actor does not have a name in the screenplay. Publicists stress that he is not Robin, he does not wear a costume at any point, and he is not a sidekick to Batman. They also stress his part as being rather small." Andy Mangels reported in Amazing Heroes #197 (December 1991), "In terms of casting, here's what's what: Marlon Wayans' role was cut from the film Batman Returns before filming, as his scenes were deemed unnecessary. He never worked on the film."

and also this

A lot of people assumed Marlon Wayans was cast as Dick Grayson, but nope, this was a completely new original character. He's not a sidekick but he's a Robin type of character in the sense that he's a kid helping Batman, and the Kid was a way for Tim Burton to try and keep the Warner Bros. bosses happy since they wanted Robin but Tim Burton really didn't so this mechanic Kid was an alternative.

The article mentions Ricky too

In 1988 Tim Burton had cast 12 year old Ricky Addison Reed as Richard Grayson Robin for Batman (1989)

So it seems that Ricky was Grayson more so, than what Marlon was

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

I doubt Robin will be in this.

 

[The Guard]

Marlon Wayans is funnier. You go with the better joke if you're going to nod at Tim Burton's Robin.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

Lol no

Burton would have cast someone like Wes Bentley.

The neurotic Robin to Michel Keaton's neurotic Batman.

not sure if you just joking, but he was just an unknown at the time, and would have been like 12 when the first movie came out... certainly wouldn't have had his neurotic reputation, yet