Tim Drake (Red Robin)
Hold on, Drakers. Keep your hate from your keyboard and hear us out for a minute. In the DCEU so far, we’ve seen one dead Robin and know there’s another former Boy Wonder, Nightwing, getting his own solo film in the near future. Shouldn’t we find out how Jason Todd died first then before we get introduced to another partner?
At some point, we should also get an Under the Red Hood movie in the DCEU, so it makes all the sense in the world to hold back Tim Drake until after that. There’s no need to rush out characters or stories, since we’ve seen in the past that measured builds result in better superhero films. Slow and steady wins the race here, right?
It would be a damn shame if Tim is ignored altogether for the current Robin, Damian Wayne, though. He’s a critical part of the Batman mythos and valued member of the Bat Family, but he shouldn’t be shoehorned in for the sake of fan service, either.
Harley Quinn
Undoubtedly, Harley has become one of the cornerstones of the DC universe in recent times. She’s a well-known and beloved character, with her stock only rising higher after Suicide Squad. Unfortunately, though, she runs the risk of overexposure right now due to this. It’s what we call the Iron Man effect, where you need to appear in every single property of the franchise.
If she is in The Batman, it’s likely that she’ll have a major part to play in it – and this could cause all sorts of narrative and creative problems. The story needs to center on the Dark Knight, not him and Harley, or Joker, or whoever else. The focus must be on establishing the Bat in his solo film, while Miss Quinn should be left for the Gotham City Sirens project.
While there’s an obvious temptation of a cameo, it’d be best to save her for the Under the Red Hood adaptation (if it ever does happen). As we all know from Suicide Squad, she was an accomplice in the murder of Jason Todd, so if this crime gets explored later on, she’ll naturally be a part of that storyline.
