| Batman & Robin | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Joel Schumacher |
| Written by | Akiva Goldsman |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | Peter MacGregor-Scott |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Stephen Goldblatt |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | Elliot Goldenthal |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 125 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $125–160 million[2][3][4] |
| Box office | $238 million[5] |
Batman & Robin is a 1997 Americansuperhero film based on theDC Comics charactersBatman andRobin byBill Finger andBob Kane.[a] It is the fourth and final installment ofWarner Bros.' initialBatman film series (1989–1997) and a sequel toBatman Forever (1995). Directed byJoel Schumacher and written byAkiva Goldsman, it starsGeorge Clooney asBruce Wayne / Batman andChris O'Donnell asDick Grayson / Robin, alongsideArnold Schwarzenegger,Uma Thurman, andAlicia Silverstone. The film follows the titular characters as they opposeMr. Freeze andPoison Ivy, while struggling to keep their partnership together.
Warner Bros. fast-tracked development forBatman & Robin following the box office success ofBatman Forever; Schumacher was given a mandate to make the film moretoyetic than its predecessor. Schumacher and Goldsman conceived the storyline during pre-production onA Time to Kill. AfterVal Kilmer decided not to reprise the role of Batman, Schumacher was interested in castingWilliam Baldwin before George Clooney won the role.Principal photography began in September 1996 and wrapped in January 1997, two weeks ahead of the shooting schedule.Batman & Robin is the only film in theBatman film series made without the involvement ofTim Burton in any capacity.
Batman & Robin premiered in Los Angeles on June 12, 1997, and went into general release on June 20. It grossed $238 million worldwide against a production budget of $125–160 million, and was considered abox office disappointment at the time. The film received generally negative reviews from critics and is considered to be one of theworst films ever made. The film's poor reception caused Warner Bros. to cancel futureBatman films, including Schumacher's plannedBatman Unchained. One of the songs recorded for the film, "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" bythe Smashing Pumpkins, won aGrammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the40th Annual Grammy Awards.
Batman and his partner,Robin, encounter a new villain,Mr. Freeze, who has left a string ofdiamond thefts in his wake. During a confrontation at the natural history museum, Freeze steals a large diamond and flees, freezing Robin and leaving Batman unable to pursue him. Later, Batman and Robin learn that Freeze was originally Doctor Victor Fries, a scientist working to develop a cure for a disease known as MacGregor's syndrome,[b] hoping to heal his terminally ill wife,Nora. After a lab accident, Fries was rendered unable to live at average temperatures and forced to wear a cryogenic suit powered by diamonds for survival.
At aWayne Enterprises lab in Brazil, botanistDoctor Pamela Isley is working under the derangedDoctor Jason Woodrue, who has turned her research on plants into asuper soldier serum dubbed Venom. After witnessing Woodrue use it to mutate serial killer Antonio Diego into the hulkingBane, she threatens to expose Woodrue's experiments. Woodrue attempts to kill her by overturning a shelf of various toxins; instead, Isley is mutated by the toxins into Poison Ivy, who murders Woodrue with a venom-laden kiss, destroys the lab and escapes toGotham City with Bane, concocting a plot to use Wayne's money to support her research. Meanwhile,Alfred Pennyworth's niece, Barbara Wilson, makes a surprise visit and is invited by Bruce to stay atWayne Manor until she goes back to school.
Wayne Enterprises presents a new telescope for Gotham Observatory at a press conference interrupted by Ivy. She proposes a project that could help the environment, but Bruce declines her offer, knowing it could result in genocide. Batman and Robin decide to lure Freeze out using the Wayne Family diamonds and present them at a Wayne Enterprises charity event. Ivy attends the event and decides to use her abilities to seduce Batman and Robin. Freeze crashes the party but is defeated and incarcerated atArkham Asylum. Ivy takes an interest in Freeze and helps him escape. Dick discovers that Barbara has been participating indrag races to raise money for Alfred, who is dying of MacGregor's syndrome; a fact he kept from Bruce and Dick, but his niece is secretly aware of his situation and is trying to find treatment for him.
Batman, Robin, and the police arrive at Freeze's lair in response to his escape, discovering Nora preserved in a cryogenic chamber and that Freeze has developed a cure for the early stages of MacGregor's syndrome. The villains soon secretly arrive to recover Freeze's diamonds and Nora. Wanting Freeze for herself, Ivy cuts off the power to Nora's chamber, steals the diamonds, and seduces Robin, escalating tensions between him and Batman. At her hideout, Ivy convinces Freeze that Batman was responsible for her attempt at Nora's life and he then resolves to make humanity suffer for revenge, with Ivy plotting to repopulate Earth using her mutant plants afterward. Freeze and Bane commandeer Gotham Observatory and convert the new telescope into a giant freeze ray, while Ivy uses theBat-Signal to contact Robin. Robin attempts to go after Ivy alone, but Batman convinces him not to fall for Ivy's seduction. Barbara discovers theBatcave, where anartificial intelligence version of Alfred reveals he has made a suit for Barbara. Barbara dons the suit and becomesBatgirl, arriving at Ivy's lair in time to help Batman and Robin subdue her.
Freeze begins to freeze Gotham over whilst Batman, Robin, and Batgirl head to Gotham Observatory together to stop him. Batman defeats Freeze in combat, while Batgirl and Robin incapacitate Bane and thaw the city. Freeze accuses Batman of taking Nora's life, only to be shown a recording of Ivy admitting to the crime. Batman reveals that Nora survived and offers Freeze the chance to continue his research on MacGregor's syndrome in exchange for his cure. Freeze accepts and returns to Arkham, where he is imprisoned in the same cell as Ivy, upon whom he plans to make pay. Alfred is cured and Bruce and Dick agree to let Barbara join them in fighting crime.
John Glover portraysDoctor Jason Woodrue, a deranged scientist with a desire forworld domination via his Venom-powered "super soldiers", of whomBane, portrayed byRobert Swenson, becomes Poison Ivy's bodyguard and muscle. Michael Reid MacKay additionally portrays the character prior to his mutation.Vivica A. Fox andVendela Kirsebom play Mr. Freeze's assistant andNora Fries, Freeze's cryogenically frozen wife, respectively. Elizabeth Sanders appears as Gossip Gerty, Gotham's top gossip columnist.Michael Paul Chan andKimberly Scott both appear as telescope scientists.Jesse Ventura andRalf Moeller appear as a pair of guards atArkham Asylum.Coolio makes acameo appearance, later stating that he was to reprise his role asScarecrow in the ultimately cancelled sequelBatman Unchained.[9]
With the box office success ofBatman Forever in June 1995,Warner Bros. immediately commissioned a sequel.[10] They hired directorJoel Schumacher and writerAkiva Goldsman to reprise their duties the following August[11] and decided it was best to fast-track production for a June 1997 target release date, which is a break from the usual three-year gap between films.[10] Schumacher wanted to pay homage to the work of the classicBatman comic books of his childhood.[12] The storyline ofBatman & Robin was conceived by Schumacher and Goldsman during pre-production onA Time to Kill.[13] Portions of Mr. Freeze's backstory were based on theBatman: The Animated Series episode "Heart of Ice", written byPaul Dini.[14] Goldsman, however, expressed concerns about the script during pre-production discussions with Schumacher.[2] Schumacher stated that he was given the mandate by the studio to make the film moretoyetic, even when compared toBatman Forever.[11] The studio reportedly included toy companies in pre-production meetings;[15] Mr. Freeze's blaster was specifically designed by toy manufacturers.[16] Batman creatorBob Kane acted as an official consultant and was heavily involved in the production; he gave input on the film's script as well as on set.[17]
WhileChris O'Donnell reprised the role ofRobin,Val Kilmer decided not to reprise the role of Batman fromBatman Forever. Schumacher admitted that he had difficulty working with Kilmer onBatman Forever. "He sort of quit," Schumacher said, "and we sort of fired him."[18] Schumacher would later go on to say that Kilmer wanted to work onThe Island of Dr. Moreau becauseMarlon Brando was cast in the film.[2] Kilmer said that he was not aware of the fast-track production and was already committed toThe Saint[11] andHeat.[19]David Duchovny stated he was considered for the role of Batman, joking that the reason why he was not chosen was because his nose was too big.[20]George Clooney's casting as Batman was suggested by Warner Bros. executiveBob Daly.[2] Schumacher originally had interest in castingWilliam Baldwin in Kilmer's place, but chose Clooney after seeing his performance inFrom Dusk till Dawn. Schumacher felt that Clooney "brought a real humanity and humor to the piece, an accessibility that I don't think anybody else has been able to offer" and that he strongly resembled the character from the comic books.[21] Schumacher also believed that Clooney could provide a lighter interpretation of the character than Kilmer andMichael Keaton.[22] As a consequence of time constraints, the costume department repurposed the costume worn by Val Kilmer inBatman Forever for the third act of the film.[23]
Ed Harris,Anthony Hopkins, and reportedlyPatrick Stewart were considered for the role ofMr. Freeze,[24][25] before the script was rewritten to accommodateArnold Schwarzenegger's casting.[26] Schumacher later denied that Stewart was ever considered.[2] Schumacher decided that Mr. Freeze had to be "big and strong like he was chiseled out of a glacier". Mr. Freeze's armor was made by armorerTerry English, who estimated that the costume cost some $1.5 million to develop and make.[11] To prepare for the role, Schwarzenegger wore a bald cap after declining to shave his head, wore a blue LED in his mouth, and had acrylic paint applied. The blue LEDs had to be wrapped in balloons afterbattery acid started leaking into Schwarzenegger's mouth.[2] Hisprosthetic makeup and wardrobe took six hours to apply each day.[27] The extensive time spent on Schwarzenegger's costume significantly restricted his shooting time as his contract was limited to 12 work hours a day.[2] Schwarzenegger was paid a $25 million salary for the role.[28][29] BesideUma Thurman,Demi Moore,Sharon Stone, andJulia Roberts were considered for the role ofPoison Ivy.[24][25] Schumacher first became aware of Thurman through an earlier role as Venus inThe Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Thurman ultimately took the role ofPoison Ivy because she liked thefemme fatale characterization of the character.[11]Alicia Silverstone was the only choice for the role ofBatgirl.[24] Prior to filming, she was reported to have lost at least 10 pounds for the role.[30] Silverstone would later recount thebody shaming she encountered during promotion of the film.[31]
Principal photography was set to commence in August 1996,[18] but did not begin until September 12, 1996.[32]Batman & Robin finished filming in late January 1997,[33] two weeks ahead of the shooting schedule.[12] The shooting schedule allowed Clooney to simultaneously work on the television seriesER without any scheduling conflicts.[12] O'Donnell said that despite spending much time with Schwarzenegger off of set and during promotion for the film, they did not work a single day together during production; this was achieved by using stand-ins when one of the actors was unavailable.[11] Stunt coordinator Alex Field taught Silverstone to ride a motorcycle so that she could play Batgirl.[34] Filming was temporarily halted in the fall of 1996 when Mr. Freeze's blaster prop disappeared from the film set; a police investigation was subsequently opened, culminating in the raid of a film memorabilia collector's home.[35] High public interest in the film caused security issues on set; according to producerPeter MacGregor-Scott, paparazzi regularly disrupted the set, and photographs of Schwarzenegger taken during filming sold for $10,000.[2]
When comparing work onBatman Forever, O'Donnell explained that "things felt much sharper and more focused, and it just felt like everything got a little softer on the second one. The first one, I felt like I was making a movie. The second one, I felt like I was making a toy commercial."[11] He also complained about the Robin costume, saying that it was more involved and less comfortable than the one that he wore inBatman Forever, with a glued-on mask that caused sweat to pool on his face.[34] According toJohn Glover, who played Dr. Jason Woodrue, "Joel [Schumacher] would sit on a crane with a megaphone and yell before each take, 'Remember, everyone, this is a cartoon'. It was hard to act because that kind of set the tone for the film."[11] Several different stunt doubles were used for the roles of Batman, Robin, and Mr. Freeze, some specialized in ice skating, aerial gymnastics, and driving.[2]
The film was shot atWarner Bros. Studios inBurbank, California.[11] The grounds ofGreystone Mansion were used for scenes taking place atWayne Manor. Part of the film was also shot inVienna, Austria,Montreal, Quebec, andOttawa, Ontario, Canada.[36][37][38] Production designer Barbara Ling stated that her influences for the design ofGotham City came from "neon-ridden Tokyo and theMachine Age. Gotham is like aWorld's fair onecstasy."[39] Although miniatures and computer-generated elements were used for some scenes, large full-scale sets were constructed, including Gotham City covered in ice. For scenes featuring people frozen by Mr. Freeze's ice-ray, life-sized mannequins covered in fake ice were created.[23] Several different materials were tested for the faux ice before settling on a combination of fiber resin. According to Ling, the ice effects alone took half a year to create.[17]Rhythm & Hues Studios (R&H) andPacific Data Images created the visual effects sequences, withJohn Dykstra andAndrew Adamson credited as thevisual effects supervisors.[40]Batman & Robin featured 450 individual visual effects shots, 150 more thanBatman Forever.Motion capture was used to animate digital stunt doubles; for a scene featuring skysurfing, the department recorded the motion of a skyboarder in awind tunnel at a military base in North Carolina.[17]
Elliot Goldenthal returned to scoreBatman & Robin after collaborating with Schumacher onBatman Forever.[41] The soundtrack features a variety of genres by various bands and performers, showcasingalternative rock on the lead single "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" byThe Smashing Pumpkins, and with the songs "Lazy Eye" byGoo Goo Dolls andR.E.M.'s "Revolution". R&B singerR. Kelly wrote "Gotham City" for the soundtrack, which was featured in the end credits and was chosen as one of the singles, reaching the top 10 in the United States and the United Kingdom.Eric Benét andMeshell Ndegeocello also contributed R&B songs. Also included was the single, "Look into My Eyes" by thehip hop groupBone Thugs-n-Harmony, which reached the top 5. Other songs featured includedelectronic dance elements, including those byMoloko andArkarna. The soundtrack was released on May 27, 1997, two weeks and three days ahead of the film's premiere in the United States.[42] The orchestral score for the film was never commercially released.[43]
Lisa Schwarzbaum ofEntertainment Weekly gave the soundtrack a "C" and called it "as incoherent as the Batman films themselves".[44] Retrospectively, Nicole Drum ofComicBook.com described the soundtrack as a "colorful sampling of popular music at the time that feels messy, complicated, and comforting all at the same time".[45]Filmtracks.com deemed the orchestral score an improvement over that of its predecessorBatman Forever, noting that, while borrowing several themes from the previous film, Goldenthal successfully "expands upon the statements of his title theme and action material so that they are fleshed out into more accessibly enjoyable music". Nevertheless, the website compared Goldenthal's work negatively toDanny Elfman's scores forBatman andBatman Returns.[43] In an interview withIGN, composerHans Zimmer, who contributed the score toChristopher Nolan's trilogy ofBatman films, called Goldenthal's theme "the most glorious statement of Batman I'd ever heard".[46] "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" byThe Smashing Pumpkins won aGrammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the40th Annual Grammy Awards.[47]
Batman & Robin had its premiere on June 12, 1997, inWestwood, Los Angeles.[48] The film marked the United Kingdom's then-"biggest and most expensive" movie premiere. The event was held atBattersea Power Station in London, with the building decorated to look like Gotham City and Wayne Manor.[49] Expected to be among the tent poles of the summer movie season,[50] the film opened in the United States on June 20, 1997, in 2,934 theaters, where it remained for an average of approximately 6.2 weeks.[51] The film was released onDVD four months later on October 22, 1997.[52] A special edition DVD was released in 2005 that included a documentary series about the production of the film series,Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight.[23][53]
The theatrical trailer forBatman & Robin debuted on the February 19, 1997, episode ofEntertainment Tonight.[54]Warner Bros. spent $125 million to market and promote the film,[55] in addition to its $160 million production budget.[3][4] SeveralSix Flags amusement parks introduced new roller coasters themed to the film.Batman & Robin: The Chiller opened atSix Flags Great Adventure in 1997, and aMr. Freeze-themed roller coaster opened at bothSix Flags Over Texas andSix Flags St. Louis in 1998.[11]Taco Bell launched a $20 million promotional campaign for the film, selling Batman-themed cups, collector toys, and figurines.[56] Themed trading cards produced byFleer andSkyBox International were also sold, some signed by Clooney, Schwarzenegger, Thurman, Silverstone, O'Donnell, and Schumacher.[57] Aneponymous tie-in video game developed byProbe Entertainment was released for thePlayStation on August 5, 1998, to mixed reviews.[58][59]
Batman & Robin was released on June 20, 1997, in the United States and Canada, grossing $42,872,605 in its opening weekend.[60][5] That made it the third-highest opening weekend gross of 1997, behindMen in Black andThe Lost World: Jurassic Park,[61][62] and the seventh-highest non-holiday opening weekend of all time as of its release.[63][64] The film would hold the record for having the highest opening weekend for anArnold Schwarzenegger film until 2003 when it was surpassed byTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines.[65] Its opening weekend gross also remainedGeorge Clooney's highest until the release ofGravity in 2013.[66] It reached the number one spot at the box office during its opening weekend, beating outMy Best Friend's Wedding andSpeed 2: Cruise Control.[67] This would become Schwarzenegger's most recent film to achieve this feat for five years untilCollateral Damage opened in 2002.[68]Batman & Robin declined by 63% in its second week,[69] which was credited to poor word of mouth and early competition withFace/Off,Hercules, andMen in Black.[70] In the UK, it had the second-highest opening ever behindIndependence Day with a gross of £4,940,566 ($8.2 million) for the weekend.[71][72]
The film grossed $107.4 million in the United States and Canada and $130.9 million internationally, coming to a worldwide total of $238.3 million.[5] It grossed substantially less than the previous film in the series,[73] and finished outside ofthe top ten films of 1997.[74] With a production budget of $125–160 million,[2][3][4] the film was considered to have under-performed at the box-office, although it was estimated to have at leastbroken even.[75] Schumacher criticized "prejudicial prerelease buzz" online and false news reports as a cause for the film's poor commercial performance.[76] Warner Bros. acknowledgedBatman & Robin's shortcomings in the domestic market but pointed out its success in other markets.[70] In his bookBatman: the Complete History,Les Daniels analyzed the film's relatively strong performance outside of the United States, speculating that "nuances of languages or personality were likely to be lost in translation and admittedly eye-popping spectacle seemed sufficient."[77]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 11% of 95 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Joel Schumacher's tongue-in-cheek attitude hits an unbearable limit inBatman & Robin, resulting in a frantic and mindless movie that's too jokey to care much for."[78]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 29 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[79] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[80]
Jay Boyar ofOrlando Sentinel believedBatman & Robin to be the least distinctive chapter in the series, calling it a "bat-smorgasbord of action, camp, pathos, spectacle and whatever" and blaming its blandness on the studio's increased involvement in its production.[81] In his "thumbs down" review,Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times found the film to be "wonderful to look at" although it had "nothing authentic at its core", criticizing itstoyetic approach.[82] Writing for theChicago Tribune,Gene Siskel, who gave positive reviews to the previousBatman films, also gaveBatman & Robin a "thumbs down" rating, calling it a "sniggering, exhausting, overproduced extravaganza".[83] While commending the film's visuals,Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times called the film "indifferently acted" and "far too slick for even a toehold's worth of connection", believing that it "killed" theBatman film series.[84]Desson Howe ofThe Washington Post disapproved of Schumacher's direction and Akiva Goldsman's script, calling it an "emptily flashy, meandering fashion show of a summer flick" and also believing that it should mark the end to the series.[85]Andrew Johnston, writing inTime Out, remarked, "It's hard to tell whoB&R is intended for. Anyone who knows the character from the comics or the superbanimated show onFox will be alienated. And though Schumacher treats theAdam West version as gospel, that show'scampy humor is completely incompatible with these production values."[86]James Berardinelli questioned the "random amount of rubber nipples and camera angle close-ups of the Dynamic Duo's butts and Bat-crotches".[87]
In his review for theSan Francisco Chronicle,Mick LaSalle said that the film failed to "convincingly inhabit the grandeur of its art direction and special effects", criticizing George Clooney as "the big zero of the film", who "should go down in history as theGeorge Lazenby of the series".[88] While deeming Clooney "the most ideal Batman to date" in a physical sense,Todd McCarthy ofVariety found the character uninteresting and Clooney "unable to compensate onscreen for the lack of dimension on paper". Conversely, he described Thurman and Schwarzenegger's performances as the villainous duo as the "highlights of the film", pointing out Thurman's "comic wit conspicuously lacking elsewhere in the picture".[89] Writing forStar Tribune, Jeff Strickler criticized its "almost embarrassingly mundane" dialogue and called Schwarzenegger "wasted" in the role of Mr. Freeze and his character "drably written".[90]Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times gave a more positive review and praised Thurman's performance as "perfect", comparing it toMae West's "[mix of] true femininity with the winking womanliness of a drag queen", but criticizing Silverstone and Clooney's performances.[91] Steven Rea ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer found Thurman at times "amusing" and similarly described her performance as "Mae West with moss".[92]
Batman & Robin is considered to be one of the worst superhero films[93] and among theworst films ever made.[94][95] In 2009,Marvel Studios presidentKevin Feige said thatBatman & Robin may be the most important comic book film ever made in that it was "so bad that it demanded a new way of doing things" and created the opportunity to makeX-Men (2000) andSpider-Man (2002) in a way that respected the source material to a higher degree.[96] In an interview withVice 20 years after its release, directorJoel Schumacher apologized for the film while taking full responsibility for its poor reputation, stating, "I want to apologize to every fan that was disappointed because I think I owe them that. A lot of it was my choice. No one is responsible for my mistakes but me." He added, "I was scum. It was like I had murdered a baby", recounting his initial reaction to the overwhelmingly negative public response.[97][98] ScreenwriterAkiva Goldsman also apologized, saying, "we didn't mean for it to be bad. I swear, nobody was like, 'This will be bad.'" and elaborating that the film was initially intended to be darker in tone.[99]
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Retrospectively, George Clooney has spoken critically of and apologized for his involvement in the film, saying in 2005, "I think we might have killed the franchise",[100] and calling it "a waste of money".[3] In 2015, while promotingDisney'sTomorrowland atNew York Comic Con, Clooney said that he had met former Batman actorAdam West and apologized to him for the film.[93] Furthermore, when asked during a 2015 interview onThe Graham Norton Show about whether he had ever had to apologize forBatman & Robin, Clooney responded, "I always apologize forBatman & Robin".[101] In late 2020, he toldHoward Stern that it was "physically" painful to watch his work in the role: "The truth of the matter is, I was bad in it. Akiva Goldsman — who's won the Oscar for writing since then — he wrote the screenplay. And it's a terrible screenplay, he'll tell you. I'm terrible in it, I'll tell you. Joel Schumacher, who just passed away, directed it, and he'd say, 'Yeah, it didn't work.' We all whiffed on that one."[102] In 2021, Clooney said he refuses to lethis wife watch the film.[103] In April 2023, Clooney was asked about what his biggest regret, he responded "I regret doing fucking Batman".[104] Conversely, in an interview withEmpire in 2012,Arnold Schwarzenegger stated that, despite its poor reception, he did not regret making the film, commenting about his role as Mr. Freeze and his involvement with the studio, "I felt that the character was interesting and two movies before that one Joel Schumacher was at his height. So the decision-making process was not off. At the same time I was doingEraser over there and Warner Bros. begged me to do the movie."[105] Similarly, 25 years after its theatrical release,Uma Thurman described her work on the film as a "fantastic experience".[106]
The nipples seen on the character's costumes, first appearing inBatman Forever and accentuated forBatman & Robin at Schumacher's request, remain among the most defining aspects of the film.[107] Recounting his involvement with the film, costume designer Jose Fernandez stated that he was opposed to "sharpening" the nipples, calling them "ridiculous".[108] In 2022,Tim Burton commented about Warner Bros.' decision to replace him as director with Schumacher afterBatman Returns, "You complain about me, I'm too weird, I'm too dark, and then you put nipples on the costume? Go fuck yourself."[109] George Clooney's screen-worn suit was put up for auction byHeritage Auctions in 2022 with a starting bid of $40,000.[110] A previous owner had estimated it to be worth $100,000 in 2006 when Clooney was at the height of his career.[111] The suit sold for $57,500.[112]
In the 2009 filmWatchmen, directorZack Snyder and comic book artistDave Gibbons chose to parody the molded muscle and nippleBatsuit design fromBatman & Robin for theOzymandias costume.[113][114] The film is referenced in theBatman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Legends of the Dark Mite!", whenBat-Mite briefly uses his powers to transform Batman's costume into the same suit shown in Schumacher'sBatman films, before declaring it "too icky".[115] Twenty-six years after the release ofBatman & Robin, Clooney made acameo appearance as Bruce Wayne in the 2023DC Extended Universe superhero filmThe Flash. Clooney was asked to reprise the role when the film was already in post-production, agreeing to join after seeing a cut of the film; filming took place in secret six months before release and lasted half a day.[116]
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | Batman & Robin | Nominated | [117] |
| Worst Remake or Sequel | Nominated | |||
| Worst Reckless Disregard for Human Life and Public Property | Nominated | |||
| Worst Director | Joel Schumacher | Nominated | ||
| Worst Screenplay | Akiva Goldsman | Nominated | ||
| Worst Supporting Actor | Chris O'Donnell | Nominated | ||
| Worst Supporting Actor | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Nominated | ||
| Worst Supporting Actress | Alicia Silverstone | Won | ||
| Worst Supporting Actress | Uma Thurman | Nominated | ||
| Worst Screen Couple | George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell | Nominated | ||
| Worst Song for "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" | Billy Corgan | Nominated | ||
| Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Movie | Batman & Robin | Nominated | [118][119] |
| Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Picture | Batman & Robin | Won | [120] |
| Worst Sequel | Nominated | |||
| Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100M Worldwide Using Hollywood Math | Won | |||
| Worst Director | Joel Schumacher | Won | ||
| Worst Supporting Actress | Alicia Silverstone | Won |
During the filming ofBatman & Robin,Warner Bros. was impressed with thedailies, prompting them to immediately hire Joel Schumacher to return as director for a fifth film. However, writerAkiva Goldsman turned down an offer to write the script.[12] In late 1996, Warner Bros. and Schumacher hiredMark Protosevich to write the script for a fifthBatman film. A projected mid-1999 release date was announced.[121]Los Angeles Times described their film as "continuing in the same vein with multiple villains and more silliness".[15] TitledBatman Unchained, Protosevich's script featured theScarecrow as the main villain, who, through the use of his fear toxin, resurrects theJoker as a hallucination in Batman's mind.Harley Quinn would appear as a supporting character, written as the Joker's daughter.[122] Schumacher approachedNicolas Cage to portray the Scarecrow while he was filmingFace/Off andCourtney Love was considered for Harley Quinn.[123][124] Schumacher said he begged the studio for him to doThe Dark Knight Returns story for the "fifth film", but they wanted to keep the "family-friendly, toyethic thing".[124]
Clooney, O'Donnell, Silverstone, and Coolio were set to reprise the roles of Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Scarecrow. It was hoped that the villains from previous films would make cameo appearances in the hallucinations caused by Scarecrow, culminating withJack Nicholson reprising the role of the Joker. Following the poor critical and financial reception ofBatman & Robin, Clooney vowed never to reprise his role,[9][125] and Warner Bros. cancelled any futureBatman films, including Schumacher's plannedBatman Unchained.[126]
In a 2012 interview withAccess Hollywood, Chris O'Donnell claimed that a spin-off centered around the character of Robin was planned, but eventually scrapped due toBatman & Robin's poor commercial performance.[23][127]
Batman and Robin cost $160 million.
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