Nightwing movie will be a grounded, underdog story, says Chris McKay

Chris McKay has many things in mind for his big screen take on Nightwing!

Although Chris McKay has been mostly focused on Lego film properties as of late, he’s already looking ahead to directing Warner Bros.’ live-action Nightwing movie. The project is still in its early stages, but McKay already has ideas on how to approach it. And, they could prove why Batman’s former protégé deserves a film of his own.

While talking to Collider, McKay expressed his excitement about bringing Nightwing (Dick Grayson) to life on the big screen and being able to tell a true underdog story:

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"“I’m a big comic book fan, and being able to do the story of Nightwing, to do a Dick Grayson story, which is a character that every single person in the world knows, but has never really had a lot of screen time. They make a billion Spider-Man movies and a lot of Batman movies, and they’ve tried The Hulk…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 then talked more on the character’s arc and why it appealed to him as a young comic book fan:

"“You always thought Robin was the dork and were like, ‘I don’t want to be like Robin. I don’t want to play with Robin. I wanna play Batman.’ But Robin was there as a window character for little kids like me to understand Batman’s world and see into Batman’s world. There’s no other character in comics that went through this real-time transition.”"

The director also spoke on his desire to use a reduced amount of CG and on what the audience – and the cast and crew – can expect from the film:

"“It’s gonna be a f**king badass action movie with a lot of heart and emotion. It’s gonna be a crazy, fun ride. Whoever gets cast as Nightwing, and any of the other actors around, are gonna go through a f**king 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**t. It’s gonna be real stunt work, and they’re gonna need to do all of the stuff on camera and do it credibly. For the cast and the crew, it’s gonna be a visceral experience, and for the audience.”"

Dick Grayson’s previous theatrical appearances in Batman (1966) and Joel Schumacher’s two Batman films do have their merits. However, fans have been anxiously waiting to see the character as his Nightwing persona in a movie for years. It’s for this reason that this film could be successful.

Having McKay in the director’s chair is also very invaluable for this particular property. Through his work on The Lego Batman Movie, he proved that he understands Batman and DC Comics mythology, and his comments are only solidify this.

The fact that he also wants to use less CG is also exciting, as it would be a nice change of pace for the genre.  While most superhero films are marked by massive visual effects, it is possible to make one that is not effects heavy. Films like Kick-Ass and even Captain America: The Winter Soldier proved this point quite well.

Next: Suicide Squad 2 director set

As is the case with many films, McKay’s vision could change before production begins. But, if it stays close to what he’s promising, audiences could be in for a thrill.