Although several actors have portrayed the Caped Crusader on film since Michael Keaton hung up his cowl, countless fans feel that he remains the definitive Dark Knight to this date. Having played the icon for two movies – 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns – it may come as a surprise to some to learn that he was originally slated to come back for at least one more outing.
Seriously, before director Tim Burton was gently given the boot, he was supposed to helm a third Batman flick that would’ve again featured Michael Keaton in the title role and seen the late Robin Williams star opposite him as the Riddler. But it was not meant to be, with the studio seemingly agreeing with angry parents’ groups saying that Batman Returns was “too dark and sexy,” and that the tone needed to be considerably lightened.
Now, there were probably many reasons as to why Keaton didn’t come back, some of which he recently revealed to be that he thought the script “sucked” and his bewilderment as to why incoming director Joel Schumacher didn’t think the picture had to be so dark. And knowing how the actor brought much psychological complexity and gravitas to the role, odds are that he thought it best to abandon ship before it sunk.
Actually, he went on to elaborate when speaking with The Guardian, also citing that the 1990’s were very different times:
“[The film] just wasn’t any good, man. I tried to be patient, but after a certain point, I was like, I can’t take this any more, this is going to be horrible. But, look, there was some really horrible taste in the 90s, and I probably contributed to that, unfortunately. It was a time of nouveau riche excess — everyone was known for their jets and their stuff.”
Well, he’s at least right about the first part. Granted, I didn’t think Forever was a total loss, but many of you reading this will probably agree with me in saying that it didn’t even come close to touching Burton’s Batman films. Consequently, I guess all we can do is ponder the movie that our alternate universe doppelgangers were able to enjoy.
