Why Nightwing appeals to the directing duo behind Moon Knight and Loki S2

Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead were recently in the UK shooting Season 2 of Loki, but during a break from filming, they spoke exclusively to Dexerto about their love of DC character Nightwing.

Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are known for smart sci-fi horrors like Resolution, Spring, The Endless, and their most recent release, Something in the Dirt.

They made that movie with their friends, then dedicated it to making movies with your friends, and while at the film’s FrightFest premiere, spoke exclusively to Dexerto about how to do that yourself.

The conversation then turned to comic book characters. The pair directed episodes of Moon Knight, and have just finished shooting Season 2 of Loki. But we wanted to know what other characters they have their collective eyes on.

The appeal of Watchmen and Nightwing

Aaron was first up, proclaiming his love for a property that has been adapted or spun-off in movies, TV, and animation. “Our favorite superheroes have been done extraordinarily well, but I’ll shout a few of them out,” said Moorhead. “We have no take on Watchmen. But Watchmen is one of the absolute best.”

Then Justin spoke of his love of a DC character yet to make the leap to the big screen. “Nightwing’s a really interesting character,” said Benson. “The idea that there’s this guy out there who used to be Robin, and he lives in the shadow of Batman – the psychology of that? It’s just a very interesting character that you never see tackled.

“I think when you tell people ‘Robin grew up and he became this other character in the world of comics’ – you have to tell people this character exists. And there’s something so interesting about that. About the psychology of that guy.

“There’s a moment in one of the ’90s runs of Batman where he comes to the window of Batman after the Robin that replaced him is killed by the Joker, and there’s this heart-to-heart where he says essentially ‘It’s not your fault.’ And it’s so beautiful.

“He just appears at Batman’s window for a moment to help him with his grief, and then he disappears from the story. It’s not a storyline, it’s just a beautiful moment. It’s a fascinating and elusive character. And it’s a great name – Nightwing.”

Something in the Dirt is currently in cinemas, Moon Knight is streaming on Disney+, and Season 2 of Loki is coming soon.