Timothée Chalamet is Interested in Playing Robin in a Batman Movie

Timothée Chalamet has expressed interest in appearing in a Batman film as Robin. The actor is known for his roles in such movies as Lady Bird and Call Me By Your Name. He also starred alongside the recently announced Batman, Robert Pattinson, in The King, which is due to hit Netflix in November.

The Boy Wonder’s origins can be traced back almost as far as the Dark Knight’s, with Batman debuting in 1939 and Robin showing up the very next year. Despite the character’s popularity in the comics, Batman’s sidekick doesn’t have a great live-action track record. He was played by Chris O’Donnell in Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, though neither of those movies was particularly well-received. The Dark Knight Rises hinted that Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s John Blake was Robin. However, the topic was never revisited since that was the final film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. As for the DCEU, thus far all fans have really seen is a very brief glimpse of a long-dead Robin’s costume in the Batcave during Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. There has been a long-gestating Nightwing film in the works – the identity taken by the first Boy Wonder, Dick Grayson, after he and Batman parted ways. Recent reports indicate that Robin might debut in The Batman first though. Matt Reeves’ upcoming project focusing on the Dark Knight will see Pattison don the iconic cape and cowl.

When speaking to Variety, Chalamet stated that he thought Pattison would be “awesome” in the role and that the film would be a “fresh” take. He also elaborated on his childhood obsession with Robin. Chalamet explained that when he was a kid and someone would ask him his name, he would say it was Robin. The actor continued:

“Actually every director steered away from putting Robin [in a movie] — well, actually Zack Snyder had a flashback of Robin, but it was like three seconds and I don’t even know if it was Robin by name but they’ve steered away from it because it’s hard to do dramatically or something, and I would not…I’m not averse to those universes.”

Based on this statement, it would appear that Chalamet’s been keeping tabs on Robin’s film appearances. Though he doesn’t specify that he wants to suit up alongside Pattinson in The Batman, he does appear to be excited about the role. However, his statement is a bit ambiguous in terms of how serious he is. Chalamet seems a bit unsure of whether or not he would actually take on the part, but his love for the character is apparent.

There isn’t yet any certainty that Robin will debut in The Batman. The franchise is being rebooted with a new Dark Knight, so it seems wise to wait a bit before saddling him with a sidekick. Jonah Hill is in talks to play either the Riddler or the Penguin, and both Catwoman and Two-Face are also rumored to be appearing. Adding Robin to that already very full roster might be a bit too much. At least fans can watch his journey unfold on DC Universe’s Titans.

Chalamet is right about the difficulties in bringing Robin from page to screen. The character may not have had much luck in the movies thus far, but there are plenty of great stories from the comics that make an excellent case for giving the Boy Wonder another chance at the box office. It’s likely the first Robin introduced in an upcoming Batman movie would Dick Grayson. However, there is potential for many other Robins to appear down the line. He might not be right for Jason Todd, but fans can all probably agree that Chalamet would make a perfect Tim Drake.