‘Batman’ Movie News: Armie Hammer As Nightwing To Replace Ben Affleck As Batman?

The Batman movie rumor mill never seems to stop cranking. Collider has noted the current internet theory that Armie Hammer might not only appear in a newly proposed Nightwing movie, but that his character of Nightwing might then take over as the new Batman for Ben Affleck – who is rumored to be eager to leave the franchise.

Nightwing and Batman

Movie fans might not know it, but DC comic fans are fully aware that the character of Nightwing – a crime-fighting vigilante in the city of Bludhaven – was Batman’s sidekick/ward, Robin/Dick Grayson. In the comics – as well as in the various animated series based on the comics – Dick Grayson eventually had an argument with Bruce Wayne and left to become Nightwing.

In Bludhaven, Nightwing carries out the same activities that Batman does in Gotham City. In other words, he fights super villains and criminals of various sorts. In many ways, Nightwing is just a capeless version of Batman in another city. In fact, in the comic books, Nightwing has already occasionally taken on the role of Batman when the real Batman – Bruce Wayne – was unavailable for some reason.

‘Batman’ Movie Chaos

In recent months, the news from the upcoming Batman movie starring Ben Affleck has been anything but good. First there was chaos regarding whether the script was even done – along with starring in and directing the Batman movie, Affleck was also helping to write it.

Then hints came from Ben Affleck that he might not even direct the Batman movie. As it turned out, these hints were more than just talk, with Affleck surrendering the director’s seat to Dawn of the Apes director Matt Reeves.

Next, the script that Affleck wrote for the movie was rewritten by Chris Terrio. In short order, the studio threw out this script and started on an entirely new version. Finally, rumors began swirling that Ben Affleck actually wanted out of the Batman franchise entirely – apparently disenchanted with how things were going. Of course, the drama in his personal life probably didn’t help.

Armie Hammer as Nightwing

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, it was recently announced that Warner Bros. is planning a Nightwing movie for the big screen. Chris McKay – who most recently directed the highly successful The Lego Batman Movie – will be directing this initial outing for Batman’s old sidekick Dick Grayson.

In addition to the simple fun of The Lego Batman Movie, several reviewers have noted that the producers of this animated version of Batman have a better grasp on the character than many of the producers of live-action Batman films. So it’s hardly surprising that Warner Bros. chose to bring in McKay for the Nightwing project.

But more interesting than the director of the project is the possible lead actor. Thirty-year-old Armie Hammer is rumored to be under consideration for the role. Hammer, who was considered an up-and-coming actor until his disastrous role in The Lone Ranger, has been making a bit of a comeback with critically well-received films like The Man from UNCLE.

At one point, a much younger Armie Hammer was being considered for the role of Batman himself. This was back when George Miller was thinking about helming a superhero film for Warner Bros. So it would make logical sense if a future Batman movie featured Armie Hammer as Dick Grayson taking over the role of Batman from Ben Affleck.

This would be an organic way to allow Affleck to move on from the character, since in his version of the Batman, he is a gray-haired, grizzled veteran of crime-fighting. So instead of being killed off, the first solo Batman movie might see Affleck’s Batman simply retiring and passing the mantle on to Nightwing.

[Featured Image by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images]