Akiva Goldsman Bringing Nightwing and the Teen Titans to TV

Akiva Goldsman may be an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, having penned A Beautiful Mind and a number of other well regarded films, but when taking on the world of superheroes it's been a different story. Goldsman, who recently made his directorial debut with Winter's Tale, also wrote Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, two comic book films that even Bat-fans hate. So there's good reason for concern as Deadline and E! report Goldsman is developing a TV series based on the DC Comics heroes the Teen Titans.

Titled simply Titans, a pilot penned by Goldsman and Marc Haimes is headed to TNT for a possible series order. It's the latest in an expanding brand by Warner Bros. TV that includes Gotham, Arrow, The Flash, and Constantine. This isn't Goldsman's first time attempting a Titans series, either. He first gave it a shot back in 2007 and for various reasons the project never got off the ground.

The Teen Titans were basically a team of sidekicks looking to forge their own identities. So you had heroes like Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, Beast Boy, Cyborg (rumored to be in Batman v Superman) and Speedy (aka Roy Harper, played by Colton Haynes on Arrow), with Dick Grayson as their leader. Grayson is the alter ego of Robin, who would grow up to become the hero Nightwing. The team would prove themselves on numerous occasions, shedding the 'Teen' and becoming the Titans. There seems to be some debate whether the show's focus will be on the Titans or Grayson. One version says the pilot will center on Grayson as he "emerges from the shadow of Batman to become Nightwing, the leader of a fearless band of new Super Heroes including Starfire, Raven and many others. Titans is a dramatic adventure series that will explore and celebrate one of the most popular comic book titles ever.”

The Titans has enjoyed a successful run on TV in animated form with the Cartoon Network's Teen Titans Go! Obviously, Warner Bros. isn't concerned about overexposing their characters.

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Producer Says Wonder Woman, Nightwing, and Doomsday are in 'Batman vs. Superman'

Ahhh, Batman vs. Superman rumors. Sometimes it can be hard to tell what's true and what's just a dispatch from Bizarro World, but when a producer for Warner Bros. starts spilling details those carry a little bit of weight. Chatty Warner Bros. producer Daniel Alter, the same guy who kind of confirmed the semi-retired Batman thing last month, has dropped a few more dimes via Twitter. Feel free to be skeptical on these since he's not actually working on the film or anything....

First up, he goes on to confirm the rumors of Wonder Woman and Nightwing appearing in the film, without going into any specifics, of course....

#wonderwoman is going to be in #BatmanvsSuperman
— Daniel Alter (@DAlter007) December 3, 2013

.@JohnBlakeLA was one of the things that really hurt TDKR. But #BatmanvsSuperman will do it right. #nightwing
— Daniel Alter (@DAlter007) December 3, 2013

And then he goes on to claim that Doomsday, the powerful supervillain that actually killed Superman awhile back, will be making an appearance...

Need to talk to some people tnite about #doomsday in #BatmanvsSuperman
— Daniel Alter (@DAlter007) December 3, 2013

Um, why would he need to talk to anybody about that if he's not involved? And doesn't news like that deserve more than just a casual name drop? All of it sounds fishy, and since Alter later gave himself plenty of cover perhaps it's best to file this away for now.

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Adam Driver Shoots Down Nightwing Rumors

The reaction to last week's rumor of Adam Driver being up for the role of Nightwing in Batman vs. Superman has largely depended on how one feels about HBO's Girls. Perhaps more than any other member of that polarizing show Driver has branched out to work with some great directors, from Steven Spielberg to Noah Baumbach to the Coen Brothers. As for him working with Zack Snyder, Driver claims to have never heard about it, but he's sure flattered to be considered.

While doing press for Inside Llewyn Davis (in which he has a small but memorable role), Driver was asked by Collider if there was any truth to the Nightwing rumors, replying with "No. Not that I know of, no. If you find out, let me know, then I'll know."  

He does seem to recognize that just being mentioned for the film is a sign of his "rising star" status, and is flattered that somebody saw fit to put his name out there...

"That's like intensely flattering as you can imagine. I mean, it's Batman and Superman, who doesn't want to be involved in something not only of that scale but of who those characters are. That's an incredible world to be able to be in for a bit. Like who wouldn't want to do that?"

There are apparently two other names in the mix for the role, but let's be honest here, the REAL news is that Nightwing is in the movie at all, and suggests we'll be seeing more of Batman's world than we thought.

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Has Zack Snyder found his Nightwing for 'Superman vs. Batman?

Warner Bros has no comment at the moment but TheWrap is reporting that several sources have told them Adam Driver, from the HBO series Girls, is the front runner to play the grown up Dick Grayson aka Nightwing in the Man of Steel sequel. The casting sheet apparently called for a a young John Hawkes...not where I would go for Nightwing but I'm sure they know a bit more than I. Adam Driver, who apparently is pretty popular, had tons of pictures out there but I went ahead and picked the buffest to kind of give us an idea. Physically, it seems, he'll be able to stand next to Affleck and Cavill on screen and while his look isn't right from central casting I think he could bring the dark side that Nightwing is supposed to have. Honestly I'm just stoked they're including the adult Robin, Nightwing's always been cool but lately...especially after Injustice his stock has greatly grown in my eyes. I do have one concern with this, it's not the casting really but more the inclusion of Nightwing. This coming on the heels of the casting for Batman's love interest really makes you wonder how much this is Man of Steel 2, I know Batman's a fan favorite but don't sell Snyder and Cavill's Kal-El short, Man of Steel was the start of a truly great Superman so give him his due, don't make him stand in the shadow of the Caped Crusader, he's had his time.

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