Robin was once set to be part of Batman ’89, and here was his planned role in the story and the actor cast in the role. Given the success of the MCU and DCEU universes, it’s almost easy to forget the impact Tim Burton’s Batman ’89 had on comic book movie adaptations. The rich, gothic atmosphere of the film combined with the iconic turns by Michael Keaton in the titular role and Jack Nicholson as Joker made the movie a major success and proved to studios there was gold to mined from adapting comics.

Of course, it was still many years before filmmakers like Sam Raimi and Christopher Nolan cracked the comic book movie code further with the likes of Spider-Man or Batman Begins. That said, Batman ’89 represents a landmark for both the genre and the character, with many still considering Keaton – who will return as Batman for The Flash – the defining live-action take on the Caped Crusader. The movie’s success also allowed Burton to convince the studio to give him creative freedom on sequel Batman Returns, which is arguably the most unique comic book movie ever. The movie’s twisted, fairytale tone and darkness have seen it age incredibly well, but it wasn’t exactly family-friendly, leading to Burton being replaced with Joel Schumacher for Batman Forever.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Batman Forever finally introduced Robin to the series, after the character was written out of Burton’s previous movies. Famously, Marlon Wayans was cast and even attended costume fittings for Batman Returns’ planned take on Robin, who was a teenage mechanic that would aid the titular hero in the finale. A lesser-known fact is that the sidekick was set to be introduced in Batman ’89, where the Dick Grayson version of Robin would lose his parents to Joker and later help Batman in the belltower finale.

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There’s even a Batman ’89 storyboard video depicting Robin’s introduction scene, where Batman and Joker are voiced by The Animated Series Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. However, a 1986 draft by screenwriter Sam Hamm revealed Robin’s part beyond this scene, where Bruce would take him back to Wayne Manor to recover. The two would later get in a fight when Bruce refused to let Dick leave, and the teenager would figure out Wayne was Batman. After the Batwing is shot down in Batman ’89’s finale, Dick would save Batman from Joker’s goon and help him out of the wreckage.

Dick – wearing his Flying Grayson’s costume – would have then raced after Joker in the church, before Batman knocked him out. Robin’s cut role in Batman ’89 got so far that actor Ricky Addison Reed (from weird Stephen King sequel A Return To Salem’s Lot) was cast, and according to Hamm in a Comic Alliance interview, the studio insisted on including the character. The writer stated that after he and Burton found a way to shoehorn Robin in the script, that “… when production is underway, and the picture is running over budget, what does the studio decide to cut? You guessed it – Robin!“

Robin’s cut role in Batman ’89 was for the best, as his part was easily removed. The final scene would have revealed Dick had become Robin and was officially Batman’s partner, but ultimately the character’s storyline had little bearing on the overall plot. Still, that must have been a major disappointment to Ricky Addison Reed, especially in light of Batman ’89’s subsequent success.

Key Release Dates
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  • The Batman (2022)Release date: Mar 04, 2022
  • DC League of Super-Pets (2022)Release date: Jul 29, 2022
  • Black Adam (2022)Release date: Oct 21, 2022
  • The Flash (2023)Release date: Jun 23, 2023
  • Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)Release date: Mar 17, 2023
  • Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2022)Release date: Dec 16, 2022
Oppenheimer Set Photos Show Murphy & Blunt Filming in New Location

About The Author


Padraig Cotter
(3486 Articles Published)

It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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