Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Batman
The Batman may have already set up Robert Pattinson's future Robin. Matt Reeves' DC movie reboots the Dark Knight in a new continuity separate from the DC Extended Universe, giving it free rein to create its own world and characters. Audiences meet Robert Pattinson's Batman in the movie as a vengeful Bruce Wayne in the second year of his crime-fighting lifestyle. While he works closely with Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Bruce is still very much a loner throughout the duration of The Batman.
The inciting moment for The Batman's detective story and Bruce Wayne's search to find the Riddler comes when Gotham's mayor Don Mitchell is murdered. This happens at the very beginning of the movie, and Bruce becomes even more invested in solving Riddler's games as he learns more. The role Bruce's parents played in Gotham's corruption factors into his increased interest in this mystery, but it also resonates with him that Riddler's killing left the mayor's son without a father. While the kid still has his mother and is not an orphan, Bruce knows the heartbreak that this child is experiencing all too well.
The Batman puts a surprisingly heavy emphasis on the mayor's son, as Bruce saves him from being hit by a car and the kid is the first one to accept Batman's help during the third act flooding. Due to Bruce Wayne's care for the mayor's son, could he be involved in a future Robin twist? The Batman doesn't name Don Mitchell's son and such a twist could be Matt Reeves' way of giving audiences a fresh take on Robin. The mayor's son could be named Dick, Jason, Tim, or Damien as a reference to the comics, even if the rest of his story and path to becoming Batman's sidekick are changed for The Batman 2's story.
While The Batman 2 could ignore the teases of Bruce Wayne/Batman having a connection to the mayor's son, it would also make sense for this to be the resolution. There's even a chance The Batman delivered another hint of this kid becoming Robert Pattinson's Robin. When the mayor's son is first seen, he's wearing a red ninja costume for Halloween and playing with a sword. Robin's costume in the comics is primarily red, which could be a hint of this twist. The kid's apparent skills with a sword could even be translated to the character's classic battle staff as a less-lethal weapon to use as Robert Pattinson's young Robin; although Damian Wayne is also a skilled swordsman.
It's also worth remembering that Robert Pattinson has expressed interest in his Batman having a younger Robin in potential sequels. If he and Reeves shared this interest, they could be using the mayor's son to plant the Robin seeds already in The Batman. Even if this specific child doesn't become Robert Pattinson's future Robin, the events of The Batman could still push Bruce Wayne to care for another orphan and take him under his wing.
