Former Nightwing Actor Addresses Potential Return in The DCU [Exclusive]

With the success of Superman and Peacemaker Season 2 last year, the DC Universe is now in full swing, and there are several of exciting projects on the horizon. One of the most anticipated is The Brave and the Bold, the feature film that will introduce audiences to the DCU’s version of Batman. A key selling point for The Brave and the Bold is that it can include members of the larger Bat Family (helping it stand apart from Matt Reeves’ ongoing Batman film series). A prominent figure in the Bat Family is, of course, Nightwing, the original Robin who later assumed his own crime-fighting identity. While Nightwing hasn’t been confirmed to appear in The Brave and the Bold, an actor with ties to the role is expressing interest in coming back.

Brenton Thwaites portrayed Nightwing on the live-action series Titans. In an interview with ComicBook to promote his new movie We Bury the Dead, he addressed the possibility of reprising the character in the DCU. “I haven’t been keeping up with the DCU, but I do love that character,” Thwaites said. “I think he’s really special and the fans are just obsessed with Dick Grayson. I would love to play him again. I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s a good question.”

Could Brenton Thwaites Play Nightwing in the DCU?

Titans proved to be divisive amongst viewers during its four-season run, as it was a dark, edgy adaptation of its source material. Fans might recall the infamous first-look trailer that featured Nightwing dropping the f-bomb. Despite mixed reception to the project at large, fans seemed to think Thwaites was a good fit for the role of Dick Grayson. The general consensus is that Titans was a case of strong casting that was let down by underwhelming writing, so people would probably be onboard for a Thwaites return.

Whether or not that comes to be is another matter entirely. James Gunn has shown he isn’t against casting actors with DC connections for the DCU (former Aquaman Jason Momoa is now Lobo in Supergirl), but he might draw the line at bringing in someone to reprise their old on-screen DC role. That would raise a number of questions that could create a messy situation, as fans would undoubtedly wonder why certain actors are able to play their old characters again when others are not. The point of the DCU is to be a clean slate, creating a new continuity for future DC adaptations to follow. Odds are, whenever Nightwing joins the franchise, someone other than Thwaites will don the suit.

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For what it’s worth, Gunn does not appear to be in any rush to cast the DCU’s Batman or members of the Bat Family. The Brave and the Bold‘s script is still being developed, and the casting process will not begin until the screenplay is complete and Gunn is happy with it. With so much about The Brave and the Bold being kept under wraps for the time being, there’s no guarantee Nightwing will even be featured in the film. The narrative’s main crux supposedly follows Bruce Wayne’s dynamic with his son Damian, but comments from Gunn last fall have teased that things could have changed. Until DC Studios formally reveals The Brave and the Bold (or whatever the DCU’s Batman movie ends up being called), there’s no telling with the film will actually be about.

That doesn’t mean that other DCU projects can’t lay some breadcrumbs, however. Set photos from the upcoming Clayface feature posters for Flying Graysons performances, confirming the existence of Dick Grayson in the larger DCU. It remains to be seen if Dick himself will appear in the movie in any capacity (perhaps he has an encounter with Clayface in an attempt to slow the villain down), but Clayface should at the very least make viewers aware that Grayson, aka Nightwing, is out there, waiting for his moment in the spotlight.