In just a few minutes of screentime, Adam Driver positively crushes it playing a small role in “Inside Llewyn Davis,” and I can’t wait to see the film again in no small part because I want to see that sequence again. Driver’s been a busy man lately, and I suspect that it’s just a matter of time until most audiences have seen him in at least one thing.
“Girls” may be a big hit in terms of coverage, but it has been written about far more than it has actually been watched. More than anything, I’m guessing “Girls” has helped put him on the radar of other filmmakers, and now we’re going to start seeing much more of him. He’s one of the stars of “This Is Where I Leave You,” the ensemble comedy by Shawn Levy adapting Jonathan Tropper’s novel, and he was in both “The F Word” and “Tracks” at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. He was also seen recently in both “Lincoln” and “Frances Ha,” all of which indicates that both major commercial filmmakers and respected indie voices are paying attention to Driver’s work.
Nightwing’s involvement in “Batman Vs. Superman” was first rumored earlier this week by Latino Review’s El Mayimbe, and The Wrap is now reporting that Driver is a serious contender to play the part of Dick Grayson. If they are in fact going to use the character in the film, then this is feeling increasingly less like a sequel to “Man Of Steel” and more like a prequel to the eventual “Justice League” movie that Warner Bros. would very much like to make.
This sets a timeline for Batman that makes it sound like “Man Of Steel” took place well after Batman’s first appearance in Gotham City. Nightwing is the grown-up identity of Grayson, Batman’s sidekick who went by Robin when he was young, and they have a very specific broken dynamic that could be an important part of how they relate in the film. The important thing to take from this is that they’re not starting with a brand-new-to-the-job Batman. This is not an origin story movie.
The Wrap says there are more people in the mix and that Driver does not have the job yet. He’s an intriguing choice, though, and I am curious to see what he’d do with a role like this. The other big new rumor about the film this week concerns Diana Prince showing up in the film, although not as Wonder Woman, with reports of Olga Kurylenko, Gal Gadot, and Elodie Yung all testing for the part. They should give it to Olga because pretty much every fanboy alive loved Malick’s “To The Wonder”… right? It really does sound like they’re packing a lot of characters into this film, and that Batman and Superman are only part of a much-larger ensemble.
“Batman Vs. Superman” will be in theaters July 17, 2015.