Now that Justice League has come and gone, it's time to start looking forward to some of the future DCEU adventures. One of the most interesting of the bunch is Chris McKay's Nightwing, a long-awaited movie whose casting process has thus far remained a mystery. However, CinemaBlend recently presented the idea of portraying Dick Grayson to Maze Runner: The Death Cure star Dylan O'Brien, and while the 26-year-old actor isn't particularly familiar with the elder Robin, it seems that one of his co-stars thinks he's perfect for the role. As Maze Runner co-star Dexter Darden put it:
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.
Dylan O'Brien has become one of those names that regularly pops up on lists of potential actors to portray Dick Grayson in a Nightwing solo movie. At 26, he's roughly the right age to portray Nightwing in his prime, and he has the lean frame and overall look that fans seem to associate with a traditional Robin/Nightwing. Perhaps most importantly, O'Brien has developed a reputation for solid stuntwork (even with his accident on the set of The Death Cure) and commitment to fight choreography as he has matured as an action star. That's notable because Chris McKay has already said the stuntwork in Nightwing would force the Oscars to create a category for stunts. Put all of that together, and it seems reasonably clear that Dexter Darden isn't bluffing with that praise for his co-star's potential.
For a closer look at CinemaBlend's conversation with the Maze Runner: The Death Cure cast about Dylan O'Brien's potential as Nightwing, check out a clip from our interview below!
It probably also doesn't hurt that a former Batman recently tutored Dylan O'Brien in another potential action franchise. The up-and-comer took his action chops into R-rated territory with American Assassin last year, and worked closely with the star of 1989's Batman, Michael Keaton. This coincidence doesn't guarantee anything will happen for him in the DCEU, but it's hard to deny that it's an oddly-serendipitous role that showed off how well he could perform under the tutelage of an aging, grizzled, and badass Batman.
As of right now, it's anyone's guess as to whether or not Dylan O'Brien will step into Dick Grayson's blue and black outfit for the Nightwing solo movie. For now, however, you can catch him as Thomas when Maze Runner: The Death Cure premieres in theaters this weekend on January 26.
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