After The Dark Knight Rises, some wondered if the film was hinting that Warner Bros. was planning a Nightwing movie. At the time that turned out not to be the case, but now the idea has been resurrected, with THR reporting that Warner has brought in Chris McKay to direct the film, with Bill Dubuque (The Accountant) on scripting duties.

Nightwing will revolve around Dick Grayson, best known to many as Bruce Wayne’s ward and Batman’s sidekick, Robin. However, over the years there have been numerous Robins in the DC Comics universe, while Dick Grayson grew up, became the leader of the Teen Titans and morphed into a crimefighting vigilante superhero in his own right, Nightwing.

The film joins DC’s ever expanding plans to turn its comic books into movies. Hiring McKay suggests they may be thinking about a slightly different tone with this one than the rather dour DC films we’ve had so far. The director already has provenance in the Batman world, having helmed The Lego Batman Movie. Hiring to direct may mean Warner is hoping for a little more humour with Nightwing – or even a little more sexiness, as the character has been voted the sexiest comic superhero on several occasions.

At the moment the film is early in development, so it’s not known when we might see it.