Over the years, we have had the opportunity to witness countless renditions of Batman. It all started with the Adam West-starrer 1966 series, one won’t be dubbed as your traditional Batman. Who would expect the caped crusader to play a tongue-in-cheek role? No wonder that two decades later, the director of Batman Forever, Joel Schumacher wanted to spice things up. One of the first things he did for ensuring the same was to make his characters essentially dark.
Joel Schumacher wanted to change the tone of Batman Forever
Joel Schumacher wanted to change the tone of Batman Forever 
When Joel Schumacher set about creating his own version of Batman, he knew he wanted it to be different from the 1966 series. The series, though loved by fans, was far less dark than how you would expect Batman to be.
He wanted none of that. Schumacher knew the importance of setting the tone right. And one of the first steps he took was introducing an older version of Robin.
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Bringing to life a different Robin
Batman Forever witnessed a slightly older Robin
Robin was first introduced in the comics as a young eight-year-old Dick Grayson created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Sharing a similar tragic backstory to Bruce Wayne, he was projected as a natural protege and successor to Batman.
The tragic backstory would have lent a certain depth to the character, something which Burt Ward’s Robin lacked. Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman said,

“Here is a young man whose tragedy very clearly echoes young Bruce Wayne’s, and again, we tried to make that emotional scenario more authentic to both characters while keeping the heightened comedy, drama and fun of the comic books.”

The solution – casting a 21-year-old as Robin.
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Matt Damon auditioned for the role of Robin in Batman Forever
Even Matt Damon auditioned for the role of Robin in Batman Forever
Joel Schumacher was looking to turn the Boy Wonder into a 21-year-old. He said,

“I didn’t want to have an adolescent Robin. I didn’t want to do a wide-eyed, cutesy, overly innocent Robin. Nor did I want an overly hip, street Robin. I wanted somebody that you believe is a young man of integrity, with vengeance on his mind, who would be a formidable foe with martial arts and acrobatic skills.”

The quest for finding the right Robin went on for a long time. A host of stars auditioned for the role, including Matt Damon. But the role would finally fall to a 24-year-old Chris O’Donnell, starring alongside Val Kilmer, and the rest is history.
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Source: Slash Film
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