The Dark Knight Rises Dropped TWO Robin Hints (& Neither Worked)

The Dark Knight Rises hinted at two different versions of Robin, yet neither of them worked. The conclusion to Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises had the difficult mission of being The Dark Knight‘s sequel while also wrapping up the entire series. Nolan opted to revisit Batman Begins’ story, with direct references to the League of Shadows and Ra’s Al Ghul. Like Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises also introduced original characters.

Compared to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises was “comic-bookish” in the sense of being a bit more fantastical. Bane leading an army into Gotham while threatening to fire a nuclear weapon felt like something from the No Man’s Land comics, for example. That said, The Dark Knight Rises still held onto Christopher Nolan’s serious Batman approach as seen with its handling of Robin.

Why Robin Never Appeared In Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy

Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy was built on a sense of realism that would make adding Robin almost impossible. Following Batman & Robin’s disastrous reception, Batman had to be deconstructed for the Batman franchise to work again. Nolan’s Batman Begins, unlike all previous Batman movies, was a Batman origin story that tried to find a purpose for each element in the Batman mythos. The Bat-ears, for example, help Batman carry his radio. With that perspective, Robin would never work in Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, as a child helping Batman fight crime requires a level of suspension of belief that Nolan was trying to avoid.

Nolan did reference Robin’s importance to Batman’s legacy during his trilogy, though. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake, an original character created for The Dark Knight Rises, was revealed to be named Robin at birth at the end of the film. While it was a fun reference to Batman’s iconic sidekick, The Dark Knight Rises’ Robin reveal did not mean much after all, and the character can hardly be considered “a Robin.” The movie also teased another Robin with Bruce and Talia’s relationship, Damian Wayne. In the comics, Damian is the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, although The Dark Knight Rises’ timeline would not add up to Damian being born.

Would John Blake’s Batman Have A Robin After TDKR?

A fourth Nolan Batman movie never happened, but the idea of John Blake becoming Batman after Bruce Wayne’s “death” is very much plausible. The Dark Knight Rises was about Batman’s legacy, and it was John “Robin” Blake who Bruce Wayne chose to carry on the Batman symbol. Given how John Blake was sort of a combination of different Robins, Dick Grayson once became a detective, Jason Todd was raised as an orphan, and Tim Drake found out Batman’s identity, it would be interesting if John Blake’s Batman ended up having a Robin. Though a major comic book change, it could have worked within Nolan’s Batman world.

A Joseph Gordon-Lewitt Batman sequel never happened, but if a fourth Christopher Nolan Batman movie were to ever be produced, it would surely follow John Blake’s version of The Dark Knight. Christian Bale has said several times he would only return to the role of Batman if Nolan was involved, yet The Dark Knight Rises was a perfect ending for Bruce Wayne’s story. The Dark Knight trilogy remains Batman’s most successful series of movies, and it is not far-fetched to imagine that it could be revisited at some point be it in a comic book or through the DCU’s multiverse.