As sequel fever spreads across Hollywood, there is at least one movie that no one ever hoped would receive an additional film: Batman and Robin, Joel Schumacher’s ill-conceived superhero flick that featured nipples on the Batsuit and, more problematically, no narrative consistency of which we were aware. Even Schumacher himself has admitted to the spectacular failure of the film, going so far as to place most of the blame squarely upon his own shoulders. But no movie must remain un-sequeled, and Batman and Robin is no exception; although its sequel will not be taking a cinematic form.
According to Bleeding Cool (via /Film), Schumacher is currently at work on a Batman and Robin sequel in comic book form. The twelve-issue series will be drawn by Dustin Nguyen and will follow Batman Triumphant, the unmade third film in the Schumacher trilogy. The plot of that film was reportedly supposed to feature the Scarecrow as the main villain, with the Joker returning as a hallucination in Batman’s mind. Harley Quinn would also have figured into the plot, as the Joker’s daughter bent on revenge.
Though I am far from a passionate Batman fan, I quietly admit to not hating either of Schumacher’s films to the degree that many fans did. I enjoyed Kilmer’s performance in Batman Forever, and you have to admit that the villains were pretty well cast in Batman and Robin. Batman Triumphant might have been good fun, if it hadn’t been for the massive failure of its predecessor. Perhaps bringing the whole idea back as a comic book will at least give us the opportunity to have our curiosity satisfied on that front.
There’s no word yet on when the comic book will be released, but we can hope to hear something soon once Schumacher’s scripts are in. At the very least, it’ll be a chance to revisit some older versions of Batman.
