Why did Marlon Wayans never play Dick Grayson's Robin in Batman Returns, as originally planned? Although the mixture of Tim Burton behind the camera and Michael Keaton in front solicited some skepticism, the 1989 Batman movie proved a stone cold classic, kick-starting the superhero genre as fans know it today. Naturally, a sequel was soon underway and many agree that Batman Returns was even better than its predecessor, with a more gothic visual flavor and 2 iconic villains, Danny DeVito's Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, working in unison against the Caped Crusader.
Keaton's Batman worked alone for his pair of cinematic outings, and it wasn't until Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever with Val Kilmer that Robin made his first film appearance since Burt Ward slipped on those famous green tights. Played by Chris O'Donnell, Batman Forever charted the origin of Dick Grayson and his becoming an apprentice of Bruce Wayne, with the dynamic duo firmly established by the end of the movie. O'Donnell would return opposite George Clooney for Batman & Robin in 1997, but would strongly wish he hadn't after the fourth movie effectively killed the franchise.
However, Robin was originally set to make his first appearance one film earlier in Batman Returns, played by Marlon Wayans instead of O'Donnell. Then only beginning his career in movies and television, Wayans would go on to star in the Scary Movie series, White Chicks and a number of other parodies. Tim Burton originally cast Wayans as Robin ahead of Batman Returns, with the budding actor lined up as Keaton's vigilante sidekick. After being both cast and paid, it was the sequel's producers who decided to oust Robin from the script, believing that Cobblepott, Kyle and Shreck (Max, not the ogre) already presented an ample selection of new characters to introduce.
Despite being benched for Batman Returns, Burton held onto the idea of Marlon Wayans playing Robin and planned to bring the Boy Wonder back for Batman Forever. This time, however, the entire production was upended when Burton ended up replaced by Schumacher, and the direction of the threequel changed entirely. It was during this changover process that Schumacher decided to cast a new Robin, replacing Wayans with O'Donnell. Despite never actually appearing as Robin, Wayans claims he was still getting paid for the movie years after its release.
Although it's disappointing that Wayans' Robin never made it to the big screen, the argument that Batman Returns already had too many fresh characters is a sound one. Penguin and Catwoman's backstories are perfectly executed in Burton's sequel, and it's difficult to see how Dick Grayson's story would also fit into that tapestry without causing a negative knock-on effect to the other backstories. Pfeiffer and DeVito may not have shone as brightly as they did with another sub-plot to weave into the run time.
It would've been fascinating to see a young Wayans' interpretation of Robin in Batman Forever but, on the other hand, Chris O'Donnell was not only well-suited to the sidekick role, he also ended up being one of the few watchable elements of the Joel Schumacher era, especially in Batman Forever. With that said, the tattered reputation of late 1990s' Batman movies ensured many years would pass before Robin graced the big screen again, and as of right now, the character has only made live-action appearances on TV. Perhaps with Wayans in the role under Burton's direction in Batman Returns, Robin wouldn't be so synonymous with the Schumacher Batman films today.
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