When Tim Burton and Michael Keaton declined to return for a third Batman Forever.
The movie had a drastically different tone than Batman & Robin, which replaced Kilmer with George Clooney.
Val Kilmer And Joel Schumacher Really Didn’t Get Along
Although neither of them have talked about it at great length, there are a ton of reports that Val Kilmer and Joel Schumacher had a terrible relationship on the set of Batman Forever.
Technically, Kilmer turned down the chance to reprise his role in Batman & Robin due to scheduling clashes with The Saint, but there are always rumors that he simply didn’t want to make another movie with Schumacher.
Playing Mr. Freeze Earned Arnold Schwarzenegger A $25 Million Payday For Six Weeks’ Work
Arnold Schwarzenegger was apparently paid a whopping $25 million fee for playing Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin, and his scenes only required a commitment of six weeks. So, when the movie was universally panned, the Austrian Oak was laughing all the way to the bank.
After filming was complete, Schwarzenegger underwent heart surgery that gave studios cold feet about insuring him for action-oriented roles. This meant that Batman & Robin ended up being Arnie’s last action film for two years.
George Clooney Turned Down A Green Hornet Movie To Play Batman
When he was offered the role of Batman, George Clooney turned down the chance to star in a Green Hornet movie to seize the opportunity (an opportunity he’d go on to seriously regret taking).
A big-budget Green Hornet movie would eventually get made in 2011 with Seth Rogen playing the title role. While it wasn’t as bad as Batman & Robin, it did have its fair share of flaws.
Batman Forever And Batman & Robin Originally Had Each Other’s Titles
When the fourth Batman movie was in development, it was titled Batman 4Ever. But this was deemed to be a silly idea, because the third film had already been titled Batman Forever and, as the second soft reboot within the same franchise, it wasn’t really the fourth part in an ongoing storyline.
So, the title was changed to Batman & Robin, which, incidentally enough, had been the original title for the threequel.
Michael Keaton Was Turned Off By Schumacher’s Vision
After Tim Burton dropped out of directing the third Batman movie (after deciding that the Riddler would be the main villain), Michael Keaton was still on the fence about returning to the role of Bruce Wayne.
When Joel Schumacher was brought onboard, Keaton met with him to discuss his vision for where the franchise would go under his direction. Keaton didn’t like Schumacher’s vision (wisely) and decided to follow Burton’s lead.
Robin Williams Turned Down The Role Of The Riddler (With A Very Good Reason)
Robin Williams was offered the role of the Riddler in Batman Forever, but he turned it down – with a very good reason (besides the movie sucking, that is). When Tim Burton’s original 1989 Batman movie was in development, Jack Nicholson was taking a long time to commit to playing the Joker.
So, the producers offered the role to Robin Williams, who was eager to play it, but only as a bargaining chip to pressure Nicholson to take the part. When Williams heard about this, he refused to work with Warner Bros. until they apologized – and that meant turning down the part of the Riddler.
Kurt Russell Was Almost Cast As Batman
The producers of Batman & Robin had to scramble to find a new lead actor after Val Kilmer decided not to return to the role of Bruce Wayne. George Clooney eventually landed the part, but he wasn’t the first star that the producers looked at.
William Baldwin, who had previously been considered to play the Dark Knight in Batman Forever, was considered, as well as David Duchovny at the height of his X-Files popularity and Kurt Russell.
Jim Carrey Wanted To Shave A Question Mark Into His Scalp To Play The Riddler
When Jim Carrey first signed on to play the Riddler, he wanted to shave a question mark into his scalp for the role. The producers were all for it, but Carrey was set to appear in court to finalize his divorce, so he decided against the idea.
Apparently, Carrey became good friends with Val Kilmer, who was playing Bruce Wayne, on the set of Batman Forever. The two bonded over having lost their fathers.
George Clooney Hated Batman & Robin
After the failure of Batman & Robin, George Clooney feared he’d torpedoed his own career. There are unconfirmed rumors that he reimbursed anyone who told him they’d paid to see Batman & Robin in a theater.
Clooney also said in an interview that he thought they might’ve killed the Batman franchise. Of course, Batman & Robin didn’t quite kill the franchise, as Christopher Nolan would go on to reboot it to some success with Batman Begins and its two sequels.
Joel Schumacher Was Planning To Direct A Darker Third Batman Movie
Before Batman & Robin was released, Joel Schumacher was planning to direct a third Batman movie that would be a lot darker than his previous two. It was titled Batman Unchained and Schumacher was planning to use the Scarecrow as the main villain, with Steve Buscemi, Nicolas Cage, and Jeff Goldblum under consideration for the role.
Courtney Love was cast as Harley Quinn and Martin Short was cast as Man-Bat. However, after the overwhelming negative response to Batman & Robin, the fifth movie was promptly called off.
