In some parallel universe, Warner Bros. decided to carry on Christopher Nolan’s vision of Gotham City after The Dark Knight Trilogy concluded. As you may remember, Bruce Wayne faked his death and passed the legacy of the Batman on to Robin John Blake. Of course, there was word on the street that actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt was being looked at for the next Caped Crusader at the time, but considering that the studio was all for a team-up with Superman, it’s for the best that the World’s Finest’s first meeting in live action involved Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne, not the latter’s successor created for an isolated trilogy.
Still, I find it hard to forget how many mock-ups of Gordon-Levitt as Nightwing were surfacing up until the time Ben Affleck was cast as the new Masked Manhunter in the summer of 2013. Naturally, comic book readers found the younger actor to be a better fit for the sidekick turned solo hero, compounded with the character’s cinematic introduction being long, long overdue.
So, while it’s expected for some official word regarding director Chris McKay’s flick to pop up sometime next month, YouTuber Stryder HD is allowing us to peer into the alternate Earth that we spoke of in the interim. Basically, in his cut together trailer, we see Gordon-Levitt gloriously emerge as Nightwing.
Well, sort of.
You see, lots of footage from fan films is utilized, thus creating conflicting images for Nightwing and Bane, the latter of whom is presented as the chief antagonist. Furthermore, we’re left baffled as to why the Dick Grayson name is thrown about rather than John Blake. And how is Bane still alive? Did he shake off that shot to the chest from The Dark Knight Rises?
Regardless, it’s nice to see that there is demand for Nightwing as we begin journeying down the road to a hopeful theatrical release. Also, fans of the Red Hood might want to stick around for the end of the trailer, as we’re well aware that Bat Family aficionados have also been campaigning for Jason Todd to find his way to the silver screen in recent years.
