Yes, all three villains represented potential “darkest timeline” personas and cautionary tales for Bruce Wayne and Batman, while offering ahead of its time pollical satire that now feels dated due to the whole “Gotham actually turns against the Penguin once he’s exposed” plot turn. Ditto Daniel Waters’ screenplay, which lowered the onscreen carnage but upped the gore, sexual innuendo and “disturbing imagery” to the point where it traumatized children and their parents nationwide.īatman Returns pitted a truly tormented Batman (whose Bruce Wayne persona has essentially faded from view) against Michelle Pfeiffer’s vindictive and uncaged Catwoman (murderous vigilante), Danny DeVito’s vile and anti-social Penguin (a vengeful, bitter orphan) and Chris Walken’s psychopathic Max Schreck (a heartless corporate tycoon). Strange’s mutated monsters weren’t just going to kill hundreds of people without a second thought) but the bloodshed was harsher and more personal. Alan Grant’s stories were less violent (Dr. The books of that time were deeply introspective and explicitly psychological, while also offering (courtesy of Norm Breyfogle) stark and sometimes horrific imagery. The film was followed by Batman & Robin in 1997, with Schumacher returning as the director, Chris O'Donnell returning as Robin, and George Clooney replacing Kilmer as Batman.But if Batman was an ode to the pre-World War II (and pre-Comics Code) Dark Knight stories, then Burton’s truly ghoulish Batman Returns was both “full Burton” and a pretty accurate reflection of the late 1980’s/early 1990’s comics of the era. The film received mixed reviews, with criticism directed towards the CGI, Kilmer's performance, costume designs and tonal departure from previous films, but praising the visuals and performances of Carrey and Jones. Batman Forever grossed over $336 million worldwide and became the sixth-highest-grossing film worldwide of 1995. After Keaton chose not to reprise his role, William Baldwin and Ethan Hawke were considered as a replacement before Val Kilmer joined the cast. Schumacher eschewed the dark, dystopian atmosphere of Burton's films by drawing inspiration from the Batman comic books of the Dick Sprang era, as well as the 1960s television series. believed that Batman Returns failed to outgross its predecessor due to parent complaints about the film's violence and dark overtones. Chase Meridian, which brings him to the point to decide if he will lead a normal life or if he is destined to fight crime as Batman forever.īatman Forever's tone is significantly different from the previous installments, becoming more family-friendly since Warner Bros. In the process, he gains allegiance from a young, orphaned circus acrobat named Dick Grayson, who becomes his sidekick Robin, and meets and develops feelings for psychiatrist Dr. The plot focuses on Batman trying to stop Two-Face and the Riddler in their villainous scheme to extract confidential information from all the minds in Gotham City and use it to learn Batman's identity and bring the city under their control. A stand-alone sequel to the 1992 film Batman Returns and the third installment of Warner Bros.'s initial Batman film series, it stars Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Batman, alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O'Donnell, Michael Gough, and Pat Hingle. Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton, based on the DC Comics character Batman.