After seventeen years of abuse for the rather horrendous Batman & Robin, director Joel Schumacher still hasn’t forgiven himself… and he’s happy to take the blame for the film that almost killed Batman.
It’s no secret that Batman & Robin is often regarded as one of the worst films ever made. At the very least, it’s the worst Batman movie to date. A camp, cheesy mess from start to finish, it inexplicably starred George Clooney as the Caped Crusader… and with appearances from Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzenegger, it damn near put the final nail in Batman’s coffin.
But while fans are quick to scold director Joel Schumacher, it seems he’s not exactly lenient on himself either… and takes all the blame for the misguided movie.
“I was the problem with ‘Batman & Robin’,” he admitted in an interview with Variety. “I never did a sequel to any of my movies, and sequels are only made for one reason: to make more money and sell more toys. I did my job. But I never got my ass in the seat right.”
Schumacher is the first to admit that he really doesn’t like making sequels… and while the studio wanted a follow-up to his earlier Batman Forever, he fully admits that he should have just said no.
“They immediately wanted a sequel,” he explained. “But I said yes. There’s nobody else to blame but me. I could have said, ‘No, I’m not going to do it.’ I just hope whenever I see a list of the worst movies ever made, we’re not on it. I didn’t do a good job. George did. Chris [O’Donnell] did. Uma [Thurman] is brilliant in it. Arnold is Arnold.”
Originally intended to continue Val Kilmer’s run as the Dark Knight, Batman & Robin eventually starred George Clooney…a part he was born not to play.
“Val left at eleventh hour to do ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’,” Schumacher explained. “It changed everything. George made a noble effort.”
Although George Clooney wasn’t exactly a perfect fit for the role of Batman, I can’t help thinking that Val Kilmer wouldn’t have been able to save the movie, either. After all, with its cheesy visuals, awful makeup and over the top dialogue, it was a tragic accident waiting to happen.
But despite single-handedly ruining the Batman franchise, Joel Schumacher admits that’s likely not what he’ll be remembered for… after all, he gave the world the nippled batsuit.
“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” he said about the reaction to the bat-nipples. “I think that will be on my gravestone. It’s how I’ll be remembered.”
What did you think of Batman & Robin? Was it really as bad as we thought? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
