Everyone knows the deal with 1997's "Batman & Robin" by now. We don't need to rehash the abject disappointment that accompanied its release and its legacy of having nearly killed off the Batman franchise — though, that might be fun ... but let's focus, here. In the wake of Joel Schumacher's second and final Batman movie, Warner Bros. was sent scrambling, lurching from one attempt to reboot the Dark Knight to another.
This went on for some years, with multiple projects being considered and developed before being scrapped. One such project, "Batman: DarKnight," would have been the complete opposite to "Batman & Robin," telling a dark tale that would see Dick Grayson used as a test subject in Dr. Jonathan Crane, Aka Scarecrow's twisted experiments. Of course, we all know how the story plays out, with Warners nixing that movie in favor of Christopher Nolan's origin tale "Batman Begins.
This went on for some years, with multiple projects being considered and developed before being scrapped. One such project, "Batman: DarKnight," would have been the complete opposite to "Batman & Robin," telling a dark tale that would see Dick Grayson used as a test subject in Dr. Jonathan Crane, Aka Scarecrow's twisted experiments. Of course, we all know how the story plays out, with Warners nixing that movie in favor of Christopher Nolan's origin tale "Batman Begins.
- 4/23/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
The history of Batman on film is well established at this point. Aside from his 1966 outing, we've had the Tim Burton era, the age of Joel Schumacher, the Christopher Nolan trilogy, and most recently, Matt Reeves' "The Batman." But things could have looked very different. Once Tim Burton's 1992 sequel and "weird experiment," "Batman Returns" proved successful, the director prepared to helm the next entry in the franchise. As he recounted in a making-of featurette, he actually met with Warner Bros. and pitched them his idea for a third film, before recognizing the lack of enthusiasm among the studio execs and saying, "You don't want me to make another one, do you?"
Burton was right. Warners didn't want him to make another one — especially since he'd upset the very demographic they and the toy companies were trying to target. Instead, the studio brought in Joel Schumacher to direct 1995's "Batman Forever,...
Burton was right. Warners didn't want him to make another one — especially since he'd upset the very demographic they and the toy companies were trying to target. Instead, the studio brought in Joel Schumacher to direct 1995's "Batman Forever,...
- 3/5/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
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