One of the biggest question marks surrounding “Batman Unchained” is whether it would have seen Chris O’Donnell return as Dick Grayson aka Robin. Mark Protosevich confirmed to THR that Robin was featured in his first project. The plan was for a rift to form between Batman and the Boy Wonder, with the sidekick returning for the final battle to aid his partner. In other words, it would have followed the same rhythms of the last two films where Bruce Wayne and Grayson bicker like a married couple.
In a retrospective interview with Entertainment Tonight about his time in the “Batman” films, O’Donnell remained grateful for the opportunity, especially since he had grown up as a fan of the Dark Knight. He also revealed an interesting nugget of information about his character’s future. “Yeah, there was at one point: ‘Nightwing’,” he said. “When the reviews came out on ‘Batman & Robin,’ it was immediately shut down.”
In the context of the overall storyline, a “Nightwing” movie would have made sense. Much like in the comics, Grayson steps out of Batman’s shadow and becomes his own hero, transitioning from Robin to Nightwing. Given O’Connell’s popularity as a character, it’s no surprise that there has been talk about him being able to direct his own superhero movie.