It has been years since we saw Robin on screen in a Batman movie. Chris O’Donnell notoriously played the Boy Wonder in two Joel Schumacher movies, but Christopher Nolan completely sidestepped the Dark Knight’s crime-fighting sidekick. Well, Robin’s making a comeback, albeit in LEGO form.
The Hollywood Reporter breaks the story that Michael Cera will lend his voice to the character of Robin in LEGO Batman, the spinoff LEGO movie that Chris McKay plans to direct. Will Arnett, who voiced the grim and gruff superhero in The LEGO Movie, will return to the lead role, meaning that this upcoming stop-motion animated comedy will have a sweet Arrested Development reunion on tap.
Batman stole numerous scenes in The LEGO Movie, tapping into Will Arnett’s usual self-confident bravado to create an amusing sense of delusion swirling around the brick-shaped superhero. He sings metal music, parties with the Star Wars crew, blows off his beautiful girlfriend (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) and helps to save the day. He likely will hold down a terrific solo Batman movie, and it’s exciting how details are starting to emerge.
This is much better news for Robin than what we heard out of San Diego Comic-Con, where Warner Bros. held a Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice panel and unveiled the second full trailer. In that clip, we learned that Robin’s probably dead… and likely was killed at the hands of The Joker (Jared Leto), who then torments his antagonist by writing punchlines on the dead sidekick’s suit. Brutal.
The LEGO Movie earned a massive $468 million internationally when it opened in February 2014, catching the industry off guard and cementing the creative reputation of co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The studio has decided to spin it off in a few direction, including a straight sequel (The LEGO Movie 2) and this LEGO Batman movie. We had heard that this spinoff movie would focus on every version of Batman over the years, from the Adam West TV days to Christian Bale’s most recent turn in Chris Nolan’s trilogy. I love that Michael Cera’s been tapped to voice Robin, and I can’t wait to listen to the ways that he will play off of Will Arett in the animated comedy.
