It is just the latest bit of ignominy for the superhero sidekick known as Robin. Quietly sidelined by the keepers of the Batman flame after Joel Schumacher’s oft-ridiculed 1997 debacle Batman & Robin, the caped crusader’s crime-fighting partner has now been killed off before the first frame has rolled of the new superhero movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The new Batman, Ben Affleck, revealed the news in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, in which he discussed his take on Gotham’s eternal defender as older and more jaded.

“[Batman is] bitterly disappointed … that he’s lost this guy who fought by his side,” said Affleck. “That character’s death must have been devastating to him, and he’s suffered. We get the sense that he’s suffered a lot of devastating losses before this movie even starts.”

Batman’s pain at the death of his protege mirrors the events of Frank Miller’s 1986 graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, which Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder has said will be a key influence on his movie. In the comic book, a cruel, grey-haired Batman laments the loss of former boy wonder Jason Todd, who was killed by The Joker in an earlier episode, though he also takes on a new, female Robin, Carrie Kelley.

The trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Guardian

Affleck told Entertainment Weekly that the new Batman is both inspired by and fearful of superheroes such as Wonder Woman, AKA Diana Prince, who will be played by the Israeli actor Gal Gadot in Snyder’s movie.

“It inspires in him the idea that, well, if there’s one of these kinds of people out there, then maybe there are more,” Affleck said. “If there are more, then maybe that’s hopeful and also terrifying to him, because then they could make humans even more powerless – or they could serve on our side. You’ve got to remember that Batman is the world’s greatest detective, and if he suspects that there may be more, and if he suspects in particular that Diana may be somebody special, he gets inspired.”

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, also starring Henry Cavill, in his second big-screen portrayal of the Man of Steel, opens on 25 March.