Warner Bros. has apparently given The Lego Batman Movie director Chris McKay the green light to start chatting about his upcoming Nightwing movie. That's a good thing because the character is one of the most important in all of DC Comics, which is no surprise given that Dick Grayson is Batman's former sidekick Robin, who then grew up to become Nightwing. And he's really having a moment right now with the live-action Titans series in the works, and McKay's film, which sounds potentially badass.
Speaking with Collider, McKay talks about his approach to the film, which is to bring as many practical effects and legit stuntwork to the DCEU as possible...
"It’s gonna be a [frick]ing badass action movie with a lot of heart and emotion. It’s gonna be a crazy, fun ride. Whoever gets cast as Nightwing, and any of the other actors around, are gonna go through a [frick]ing boot camp experience because it’s gonna be a lot. I’m not gonna do a lot of CG. It’s gonna be all real shit. It’s gonna be real stuntwork, and they’re gonna need to do all of the stuff on camera and do it credibly. For the cast and the crew, it’s gonna be a visceral experience, and for the audience. It’s not gonna be like a lot of these movies where there’s a lot of CG and flying, and things like that. Everything he does is gonna have to be real. His superpower is being really [frick]ing good, as a human being, at fighting and gymnastics and shit like that, so you’re gonna see that on screen. It’s gonna be fun!"
Okay, sounds like he needs to cast Tom Cruise or something. Do young actors do their own stunts anymore?
He also chatted with Metro about working under the Warner Bros. banner and how their filmmaker-driven approach is so superior to Marvel's...
"They still want to build a universe, and that’s why it takes a lot of time and a lot of people banging their heads together trying to figure out what to do. Because it’s hard. It’s hard to get all these people, and all these egos, and all this stuff in one place and get it all to work out. But they are committed to that, and that’s what’s amazing about working with Jon [Berg] and Geoff [Johns]. They’re real partners, and so is everyone at the Warner Bros. family."
"Warner Bros. is a more director-driven studio. Period. The end. More than any other studio you’re ever going to work at. Just look at the roster of world class filmmakers that have worked at Warner Bros and made it their home. Warner Bros is a director-driven studio, and that’s exactly how they are operating these movies."
I feel like Marvel could just pull a Deion Sanders and point up at the scoreboard. Maybe it is rewarding to work for Warner Bros., but I'm sure it's also rewarding to have movies everybody loves. Plus, I think Marvel has allowed a surprising amount of freedom to guys like Shane Black, James Gunn, Joss Whedon, and Taika Waititi.
Anyway, Nightwing is way too early to have a release date, and I bet there's discussion whether to make it part of the DCEU or as one of their out-of-continuity spinoffs.
