5 actors Nightwing director Chris McKay must consider

HOLLYWOOD, CA – SEPTEMBER 12: Dylan O’Brien arrives to the screening of CBS Films And Lionsgate’s ‘American Assassin’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on September 12, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

1. Dylan O’Brien — Maze Runner

Of all the actors on the list, O’Brien is arguably the most talented. Whether it be from his role in Teen Wolf as the funny best friend and sidekick, Stiles or as a supporting role in The Internship as a douche self-absorbed millennial — O’Brian shinned. On the list of most important features when casting Nightwing, the very first option was a recognizable movie star. If McKay is looking for one then he’ll have it in O’Brien who has really made a name for himself.

His star power has a lot to do with being cast as the lead character in the Maze Runner series. As Thomas, he’s a character that has to overcome adversity to lead a group of teens that has been held captive. The success of Maze Runner spawned two additional sequels and proved that O’Brien could hold down the top spot. He has also been known to perform his own stunts, which should hold weight with McKay who said his Nightwing film will be a boot-camp experience:

"“Whoever gets cast as Nightwing, and any of the other actors around, are gonna go through a fucking 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 shit. It’s gonna be real stuntwork, and they’re gonna need to do all of the stuff on camera and do it credibly.”"

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O’Brien is one of the most perfect casting choices if there ever was one. He has the look, talent and he’s been trained by Batman, a Batman. In American Assassin, he was able tap into another side giving fans a glimpse at how versatile he could be, Alongside Michael Keaton and an Amanda Waller-like character played by Sanaa Lathan, O’Brien stole the show. Like Dick Grayson, he had to deal with a tragedy that happened in the first five minutes of the film. He’s then later trained to become an assassin to track down another Keaton trained assassin.  As a matter of fact, the story arch even reminds me of Under the Red Hood.  O’Brien tops the list of guys who would be an excellent choice for Chris Mckay’s Nightwing. We aren’t the only ones to think so, according to CinemaBlend, his Maze Runner co-star agrees.

"“He would be so good… So what happens is, Batman ages out unfortunately, in Gotham, and Robin just kind of grows up and just has the same resources, but a little bit more of a badass kind of edge to him… Nightwing is essentially a 25- to like 30-year-old Robin, and he’s got this sick blue one-piece outfit. Blue, black, and he’s dope.”"

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With Mckay taking to Twitter to get hear the voice of the fans it already feels like this movie will be different than many others. Nightwing is one of comic book’s greatest sidekicks so whoever plays him will have a ton pressure. With the DCEU changing directions and all the scrutiny that existed up until this point, getting the right actor is one major piece to the puzzle. Thanks to us, Mckay’s job just got a lot easier.