10 Shocking Batman Plans You Won’t Believe Almost Happened
6. Marlon Wayans Could Have Been Robin
Robin is an integral part of the Batman franchise. However, the concept of a young boy fighting crime in green underpants is one that's proved pretty hard to translate to the big screen.
The Boy Wonder was originally slated to appear in Tim Burton's first Batman film. One of the earliest scripts featured a scene in which Batman is chasing after the Joker. The Joker would have blown up a fireworks truck next to a trapeze act, killing the Flying Graysons. Dick would have been saved by Batman though and he would then have become Robin to get revenge.
The production team hated the idea though so it was cut.
Much firmer plans were made to have Robin in Batman Returns. Marlon Wayans was cast in the part and negotiations even went as far as to have him fitted for wardrobe and turned into an action figure. Possible origins included him being a juvenile delinquent that joins Batman to stop the Penguin and him being a garage attendant who wore an "R" over his overalls.
Robin was scrapped though when writer Daniel Waters decided the film already had too many characters. To rub salt in the wound, Robin's action figure was repainted to look Caucasian.