Popularly known as the “Batman Anthology,” the four Batman movies released between 19 had little to no lore connectivity other than the returning actors. This is a Batman canon question DC never settled, mainly because all Batman movies prior to Nolan’s Batman Begins worked perfectly fine as a standalone entries. Whether Chris O’Donnell’s Dick Grayson counts as Michael Keaton’s Robin depends on if Batman Forever is to be considered a Batman Returns sequel. Related: Why One Flash Has Blue Lightning & The Other Orange In The Flash Movie

The film was followed by Batman & Robin, with O’Donnell reprising his role as Robin.

Batman Forever, although it kept the same Alfred and Gordon actors from Burton's Batman movies, was very much a reboot of the franchise, with Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Batman. Batman Forever also finally introduced a Robin to the Batman movie franchise, with Chris O’Donnell as Dick Grayson. For example, Batman Forever featured both Two-Face and the Riddler, although Harvey Dent was played by Tommy Lee Jones. Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever, despite being a new beginning for the Batman movie franchise, ended up delivering on some of Burton’s ideas for a Batman 3. Following Tim Burton’s departure from the franchise, all of those plans changed. Burton’s plans for a Batman 3 also included the returns of both Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman and Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent, the latter of which would have become Two-Face, as well as the introduction of the Riddler. Therefore, in a world where Tim Burton’s Batman 3 happened, Michael Keaton’s Batman would have had a Robin. It isn’t clear which of the Robins Marlon Wayans would have played, although Dick Grayson is a solid guess, given that Keaton’s Batman had just recently started his vigilante career in the first film. The idea was for Wayans to eventually play Robin in Tim Burton’s Batman 3, a movie that never happened as the studio went in a different direction with Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever. Compared to Batman (1989), which focused on Batman, the Joker, and Vicky Vale, Batman Returns did have a significant set of main characters – Bruce Wayne, Catwoman, Penguin, and Max Schreck. However, according to Wayans, Robin was eventually cut from Batman Returns, as the producers believed the movie already had too many characters. Marlon Wayans was cast as Robin ahead of Batman Returns, and the actor has since confirmed he even got paid for the role (via io9).

Batman forever movie official poster