There have been so many dangling story points, and delicious teases, in Zack Snyder’s approach to the DC universe (dubbed the SnyderVerse by his closest followers). Part of the fun of fast-forwarding Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) to an advanced age means that this Batman has been through some devastating shit… including the death of his Robin. The image at the top of this story shows a Robin suit that Bruce keeps in his Batcave with Joker scrawl on it, reminding him of a tragic loss. And it turns out that we are going to get yet another tease to the existence of Robin in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, coming to HBO Max in 2021.
The director has been making the rounds to drum up awareness and support for his Snyder Cut of Justice League, choosing to appear on podcasts and YouTube streams to talk with dedicated fans. While appearing on The Vodka Stream, a weekly show hosted by Snyder Cut fan Dave Pena, Zack Snyder was asked about the development of his version of Robin, and the director had this to say:
There's a Robin line. Like… there's a Robin Easter egg in Justice League. That, I think you'll have to wait and see. I can't say exactly. Will there be a plan for more Robin in whatever future story there would be? To me, the way you do a Robin story in the Justice League universe is Batman is drinking and remembering. And we see what happened. We understand who Robin was to him and we get to experience what was the circumstances for the Joker and Robin coming together.
So, ready to put on some tin foil hats and dive into speculation? Because I have a theory as to what Zack Snyder is talking about in his quote to Dave Pena on the Vodka Stream.
Clearly, Robin is dead in the universe. And Robin has been killed by The Joker in the SnyderVerse. The Joker in that universe is played by Jared Leto… who we know has been tapped to appear in the Snyder additional photography. We know that Leto’s Joker looks like that because Ben Affleck’s Batman went to town on him following the death of Robin. Knocked his teeth out. Inspired Joker to tattoo “Damaged” on his forehead. These two have a nasty past.
When Zack Snyder says there is a “Robin line,” I think he means that Joker will have a line of dialogue that he says to Bruce Wayne’s Batman in Justice League that reminds him of the shared tragedy in their demented past. When might this happen? Well, there have been rumors that in a Knightmare sequence in Snyder’s Justice League, Batman (Affleck) will be fighting alongside Joker (Leto) and Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) in the broken version of a future where Darkseid has destroyed our planet. If Snyder is actually going to show us that bizarre team up, I can see Leto’s Joker needling his “teammate” by reminding him of his greatest loss, his deepest failure. Such a Joker thing to do.
What do you think? Is there another type of Robin Easter egg that you’d prefer to see in Justice League? Personally, I’m more excited by Snyder talking about “whatever future story” there might be. What is he planning? Talk about Restore the SnyderVerse, right?
