The Boy Wonder grows up
After his surprising success with The Lego Batman Movie, Director Chris McKay looks to DCEU’s Nightwing for his next triumph. In an interview with Collider, McKay goes into detail about the upcoming feature.
McKay says that, “When they made Batman v Superman, they were talking about it. I’m a big fan of underdog stories, and he is one of the biggest underdog stories in comics. And he’s a character that I grew up with. I like the arc.”
He goes on to say, “It’s gonna be a f****** badass action movie with a lot of heart and emotion. It’s gonna be a crazy, fun ride.”
That’s not to say the film’s production will be as lighthearted. In regards to the actor who portrays Dick Grayson McKay states, “Whoever gets cast as Nightwing, and any of the other actors around, are gonna go through a f****** 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 s***. It’s gonna be real stuntwork, and they’re gonna need to do all of the stuff on camera and do it credibly.”
Chris McKay is clearly the man to bring Dick Grayson to cinematic life. The enthusiasm behind his statements is both a testament to his glee and his work ethic. He’s as adamant about the quality of the film as he is about every aspect of the production.
Where there’s a will…
McKay even has a message for the team that will help realize his latest dream.
“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.”
A daunting task. Surely, this will be a production with an incredible amount of attention paid to every detail. Anyone familiar with Dick’s origins knows he’s no stranger to danger. His parents were the famous Flying Graysons, a high-flying pair of acrobats in a traveling circus. Dick was unfortunately orphaned at the hands of a mafia boss extorting their circus home. However, the boy would find a father in the infamous Gothamite, Bruce Wayne.
After becoming the legal ward of the hero-billionaire Dick became his sidekick, Robin. Donning a surprising amount of color, he spent over 50 years at the side of his adopted Father. In current comic continuity, Dick has already become the hero born from Robin, Nightwing. Named for a famous Kryptonian legend, Dick epitomizes what it truly means to be a hero in the DC Universe. In many instances, Bruce refers to Dick as the greatest person in the known Universe.
Too good to be true
As anyone comic reader knows, there’s very few people as genuine as Dick Grayson. Though he may be a playboy of sorts, he is quite literally Batman without the tragedy. For though he was orphaned in the same fashion as the man who adopted him, that very same man saw to it that he would have a Father. By giving Dick that which he never had, he saved one more boy from a destiny of vengeance.
Dick’s motivation isn’t the same as Bruce, a mission from which there is no return.
No, Nightwing represents more than something to fear in the DC Universe. He represents an ideal by which the most perfect beings in the Universe judge themselves unworthy.
Under the care of Chris McKay, he’ll be all that and more.