One of the instantly iconic images from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, seen in the first trailer, is of Robin's costume hanging in the Batcave with The Joker's taunts spray painted on the front of it. We know that Robin died, but the circumstances behind the incident that brought about his demise is never fully explained in the movie itself. Only hinted at. In a recent interview with IGN, director Zack Snyder revealed why Robin's death was important to the movie, and how it shapes this incarnation of Bruce Wayne.

"In my mind, it was that Robin had died about ten years earlier, during some run-in with a young Joker. To me, there was a fun backstory to play with. I felt like the whole idea was that there had been loss. and there had been sacrifice. You know? In a weird way he scarified everything to be Batman, right? He doesn't really have a life outside the cave. I thought that including a dead Robin helped us understand that he's been on quite a little journey."

The idea behind Robin in the DCEU is an intriguing one. It has been confirmed that new Batman Ben Affleck has written a solo movie about the caped crusader that he may direct. It is rumored that the story he wants to tell revolves around the second Robin, Jason Todd, and his transformation into Red Hood, curbing from the iconic 'Under the Red Hood' storyline which has already been adapted as an animated movie.

Right now, it isn't known if Jason Todd or original Robin Dick Grayson will ever show up in the DCEU. Or if there is more behind the death of Robin that will be explored in the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice R-rated cut. In the same interview, star Ben Affleck makes it clear that he knew of the Robin backstory, and that it served as inspiration for what he tried to bring to the screen as an aging Bruce Wayne. He explains.

"That was the main central influence on Zack's creation, and what he wanted to work on with Chris Terrio as they worked on the film. So it's what I plugged into as the central inspiration for what I was trying to do."

Zack Snyder goes onto explain that Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns was a huge influence on the movie. This is something he's stated before in the past, with the art helping solidify the iconographically that plays out on screen. Who knows when or if we'll see Robin, but it doesn't sound like he'll show up in Justice League Part 1. If Robin is such an important piece of Bruce Wayne's story, do you think that should have been better explained in the movie itself?