Last year, Warner Bros launched their DC Comics Extended Universe with Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice - the loose follow up to Zack Snyder's Man of Steel - as well as the villain team-up Suicide Squad. However, neither Batman V Superman nor Suicide Squad were critical hits, though many viewers found exciting aspects of each film. Going forward, although Warner Bros is set to premiere Wonder Woman and Justice League this year, with Aquaman slated for 2018, the rest of the DCEU slate is amorphous.
Still, Warner Bros has a huge number of projects in the works as upcoming DCEU installments, including the Ben Affleck-starring The Batman, the Suicide Squad spinoff Gotham City Sirens, The Flash solo entry, and a Black Adam standalone film starring Dwayne Johnson, among others. The latest project to be announced is Nightwing, a movie following Dick Grayson's superhero persona to be directed by Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie). Now, DC Comics fans have already begun putting forward their picks for who could play Nightwing and one suggestion comes in the form of new art.
Graphic artist BossLogic, who has put together imaginings for plenty of celebrities as various DC and Marvel Comics characters, debuted a new piece of art featuring The Vampire Diaries actor Steven R. McQueen as Dick Grayson/Nightwing. The character is depicted in his typical blue and black costume, with his favorite pair of Escrima Sticks. Take a look:
In the comics, Dick Grayson adopts the mantle of Nightwing after deciding to leave behind the persona of Batman's sidekick, Robin. We know one Robin in the DCEU is dead since the defaced suit is clearly visible in Bruce Wayne's Batcave - though it was later revealed to belong to Jason Todd rather than Batman's arguably more well-known sidekick, Dick Grayson. If, as many fans theorized, Batman V Superman additionally implied Jason Todd followed in the footsteps of Dick as Robin, the character may already be Nightwing within the DCEU, but that remains to be seen.
Of course, there's still plenty of development needed to be done on Nightwing before it's ready to premiere/reveal how it fits into the established DCEU - not the least important aspect of which is casting the titular character. Fans have put forward names that include The Walking Dead's Steven Yeun, Big Hero 6's Ryan Potter (who has filmed his own Robin fight audition video), The Flash's Robbie Amell, Lion's Dev Patel, and Teen Wolf's Dylan O'Brien. Still, without any information about the plot of Warner Bro's Nightwing movie, which is being scripted by Bill Dubuque (The Accountant), it's unclear what the studio is looking for in its Dick Grayson.
Depending on how Nightwing develops, and where it inevitably falls within the DCEU release slate, it may be some time before Warner Bros offers any casting updates or announcements. The studio has a number of DC Comics-related projects in the work and it remains to be seen how much of a priority Nightwing is among the others. Still, with the studio moving forward on Affleck's The Batman, most recently nailing down a director in Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes), it's possible Dick Grayson may appear before spinning off into his own solo film. So, it may not be too long until we learn if Warner Bros agrees with BossLogic about whether McQueen is the best fit for Nightwing.
Next: How The Nightwing Movie Should Be Different From The Batman
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