The Batman Director Matt Reeves Reacts to Robin Fan Theories

The Batman filmmaker Matt Reeves responds to fan theories about Robin, revealing if the dynamic duo is in the plans for the rebooted Batverse​. In Year Two of Batman’s (Robert Pattinson) lone crusade against crime, the Dark Knight detective investigates the murder of Gotham Mayor Don Mitchell Jr. (Rupert Penry-Jones) — the first victim of the Riddler (Paul Dano). The crime connects Batman with Mitchell’s young son (Archie Barnes), who wears a red ninja costume​ at the film’s open on Halloween night. See what Reeves had to say when asked if the unnamed boy (credited as “Mitchell’s Son”) is a proto-Boy Wonder: 

“Interesting. Um, no,” Reeves told CinemaBlend when asked if Mayor Mitchell’s son is the future Robin. “But do you know what? It’s a cool idea. It wasn’t the intention! But actually… why would I say that? Why would I… because it’s a cool idea.” 

In the comic books, Bruce Wayne’s first ward is the orphaned Dick Grayson, who becomes Batman’s sidekick as the high-flying Robin. In The Batman, the caped crusader works alone but has allies in GCPD officer Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and the elusive Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz).  

As Reeves builds out his Batverse​ with two spinoffs ordered at HBO Max — The Penguin​, starring Colin Farrell’s Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot, and the tentatively titled Arkham Asylum​ — the filmmaker has set the tone for a grungy and gritty Gotham City. When Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horrowitz asked Reeves if Robin can exist in this Batverse, Reeves said, “Maybe, I don’t know.”

“Here’s the thing, I have a lot of ideas about what I want to do. I’m not sure what the next story is. For me, whatever that story is going to be, it’s going to take these characters, and specifically Batman’s character, and put them in some kind of emotional jeopardy,” Reeves explained, adding “there may be a really interesting story” to tell with a young sidekick. 

“There have to be emotional stakes so you get drawn into that character’s story. I don’t want that character to become a cipher. I don’t want to be like, ‘Okay, so we saw it, it wasn’t an origin tale, but you know what that was kind of [Batman’s] origins. And now, he’s just perfect,’” Reeves said. “No, you need to test the character again and again and again. And for me? Yeah, there might be something in [bringing in Robin].” 

Reeves continued: “I don’t know. There’s a deep dive that already happened at the beginning and now I’m gonna have to deep dive again if we have the chance to make another one, and so we shall see.”

Starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell, The Batman is now playing exclusively in movie theaters.