CW pilot - THE GRAYSONS - holy prequel Batman!

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Darklord Dave

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From Variety:

CW's 'Graysons' takes flier on Robin
Net builds series around Batman's sidekick
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

Holy prequel, Boy Wonder, the CW is prepping a series based on Batman sidekick Robin’s pre-Caped Crusader days.
"Smallville" exec producers Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson, as well as "Supernatural" exec producer McG, are behind "The Graysons," which has landed a put pilot commitment at the netlet.

Just as "Smallville" focused on Clark Kent in the years before he became Superman, "The Graysons" will follow the world of ^^^^ "DJ" Grayson before he takes on the iconic Robin identity and aligns himself with Batman.

Project reps the latest DC Comics franchise to be mined for the smallscreen by sibling Warner Bros. TV. McG’s Wonderland Sound and Vision label is also attached.

Souders, Peterson, McG and Wonderland’s Peter Johnson will exec produce.

"The Graysons" is seen as a potential replacement for "Smallville" should that show end its run this season, which has been speculated. Should "Smallville" return next year, "The Graysons" might also make a strong companion piece.

CW insiders said they also see the "Graysons" development as a validating gesture by Warner Bros. that the company is still behind its 50% investment in the netlet, particularly following this fall’s strong openings for "Gossip Girl" and newbie "90210." They believe the studio wouldn’t risk bringing one of its prized franchises to CW if it believed the net was in dire straits.

In the one-hour "Graysons," which will be set in modern times, young DJ will face challenges involving first loves, young rivals and his family as he grows up. Souders and Peterson have come up with an original take on the character.

In the original Batman mythology, Grayson was a young acrobat and part of the family act called "The Flying Graysons." He was orphaned when a gangster sabotaged his parents’ trapeze equipment. Bruce Wayne took him under his wing and trained him to help fight crime.

Grayson later morphed into the character of Nightwing, as part of "The New Teen Titans," and a series of new Robin replacements were introduced.

Souders and Peterson serve as showrunners (along with Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer) on "Smallville," which has just entered its eighth season. They’ve been with the hit drama since season two, and helped successfully transition the show following the departure of longtime toppers Miles Millar and Al Gough.

In features, Peterson wrote "But I’m a Cheerleader," while Souders was behind "Tell Me."

McG’s credits also include NBC’s "Chuck" and the upcoming feature "Terminator Salvation." "The Graysons" reps McG’s second DC Comics sale this year: Wonderland is also behind the Fox project "Human Target," which Jon Steinberg is writing.

CW predecessor the WB tackled the Batman mythology with 2002’s short-lived "Birds of Prey," which followed a group of female superheroes who flew in to protect Gotham after Batman disappeared.

Burt Ward, of course, played ^^^^ Grayson/Robin in the campy 1965-68 TV series "Batman." And several animated versions of the Batman story have appeared on the smallscreen through the years, most recently KidsWB’s "The Batman."

Bob Kane created the DC Comics characters.

I would so much rather see the Bruce Wayne show they developed years ago.
 
Huh. I don't see this working all that well since D!ck was supposed to be 8 went the accident happened. This probably means they'll make him a teen which isn't too farfetched but I see a real serious combination of various Robins mixed into one like they did for The Flash on Smallville. I'll give it a shot but honestly I couldn't think of a less interesting character than Robin before he was aligned with Batman. According to the Comic history he learned everything from Batman except his agility which he gained from the Circus.

I'd much rather see one based on a character never done like Hal Jordan before getting the ring or at minimum a modernization of the Teen Titans....I don't have much faith in this project.
 
Who the hell wants to see Robin before he was Robin? What's next, the early days of Aqualad?
 
I don't mind. If it's good, great! If it's bad, then no one's really affected because Robin isn't exactly in everyone's good graces.

A teenage D.Grayson would certainly be a better watch than an 8 year old kid. Chris O'Donnel's Grayson was, what, in his mid 20's when he became Robin?
 
Chris O' Donnell was a blasphemy on the character and should be forgotten for all of time.
 
Bruce Wayne and Clark make sense - Bruce is training himself, studying, traveling from the time he's 9 to adulthood (unless you go with Nolan continuity). Clark is finding his powers. DJ is a circus acrobat (I'm betting they change that - if they use my idea from the other thread - I'm suing:google) but there's nothing in his life to spur change until his parents die.

Hopefully it will as good as Smallville - but they really didn't know what to do with Birds of Prey and I see the same thing happening here.
 
Until his parents die ^^^^ describes his life as perfect. He loved his life in the Circus which made his parent's death so much more tragic because it was the removal of innocence. When his parents die, Bruce takes him in very soon after. They will seriously change the continuity and origins to make this work.
 
I wonder if they are focusing on Robin to possibly tie into future sequels to the Nolan series.
 
I hope they can pull it off but I have my doubts. I would rather see the Aquaman series (Mercy Reef..?) be developed. The pilot that came out a few years beac was pretty good.
 
Kevin spacey luther WRONGGGGG!!!

How so? Who cares what Nolan has said? Warners will continue the franchise without him, and we are bound to see Robin pop up in a new film sooner or later, with or without Nolan and Bale. Any films after Nolan's third are probably going to keep the same continuity, just with a different style (see the Burton/Shumacher series.)
 
How so? Who cares what Nolan has said? Warners will continue the franchise without him, and we are bound to see Robin pop up in a new film sooner or later, with or without Nolan and Bale. Any films after Nolan's third are probably going to keep the same continuity, just with a different style (see the Burton/Shumacher series.)



Have you forgotten how that ended? Everything was just fine with Burton's run, then WB decided to move on and Shumacher came into the picture....with Robin.
 
Actually WB was disappointed with the BO on Batman Returns. That's why they allowed Schumacher to make it more campy.

I can't see them picking up this pilot - I agree that Mercy Reef was pretty good - I would have liked to have seen that as a series.
 
Nobody here probably knows what I'm talking about, but in the 90s there was a small company called Malibu comics that had a character called Prime. I think its owned by Marvel now, so that probably wouldn't work with CW, but I think its perfect for film/tv. Based on a teen character than turns on and off into a superhero. Sorta like a teen Hulk, but not ugly and green. Hilarious puberty issues and stuff abound. Anyone remember this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_(comics)

1.jpg
 
I'd rather see a series about a young Rex Mason and his adventures prior to his transformation into Metamorpho.
 
I think this could be good. Robin always gets a bad rap, but he's a good character when handled properly.

Obviously, the CW is trying to find a replacement superhero show once Smallville ends this season.

BTW - I always thought O'Donnell was fine in Forever. One of the positives that came out of that movie. I didn't mind that they made Grayson a young adult as opposed to a child. And the scene in the circus was very good. Kilmer was a very good Bruce/Batman too. You really got the sense of how seeing his parents murdered right in front of him continues to haunt him. At times, he looks almost like a young child being tormented by his nightmares. Good stuff. Plus, I could actually buy Kilmer being in the suit. He had the right physique and look. Unfortunately, the villains and the camp and the neon are so blinding that it's hard to really gauge the rest of the film properly.
 
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