#BATMAN FOREVER MOVIE SCRIPT FULL#

for using him as bait, so I can’t blame him for passing on the green tights. Frankly, I can understand why Williams held a grudge against Warner Bros. See, the comedian/actor was still vehemently displeased about initially being given the villainous role of The Joker/Jack Napier by the studio merely as means of roping Jack Nicholson in and giving him the iconic part. However, Williams declined the offer immediately. Robin Williams was initially offered the role of The Riddler/Edward Nigma. Thus, Schumacher recast his leading man from his previous picture, The Client (1994), Academy-Award-Winner, Tommy Lee Jones as the level-headed-DA-turned-homicidal split persona. Both parties felt Williams did not have much marquee name value by this point in time.

The original big-screen Harvey Dent from Batman ’89, Billy Dee Williams, also gets residuals for the film after being replaced by Schumacher and the studio. But Wayans wasn’t the only actor to get paid for not being in this threequel.

#BATMAN FOREVER MOVIE SCRIPT FULL#

Meaning, Warners was contractually obligated to pay Wayans his full salary and residuals for Batman Forever. However, Wayans got the last laugh as he had previously negotiated a pay-or-play deal. Īt this point, Schumacher did some major recasting which included replacing Wayans with Chris O’Donnell ( The Three Musketeers (1993) ).

” To achieve this goal, Warners and Schumacher hired the husband-and-wife writing team, Lee and Janet Scott Batchler, to pen a screenplay for what was retitled Batman Forever. Schumacher, his job was to “ Reinvent and refresh the ‘Batman’ franchise. Upon coming aboard, the director was given a mandate by the studio. But, the director’s chair was ultimately occupied by Hollywood journeyman and successful mainstream director Joel Schumacher. Directors John McTiernan ( Predator ) and Sam Rami ( the Spider-Man trilogy ) were briefly considered for the film. wanted to lighten up this installment and make it more family-friendly, thanks to the criticisms of the previous entry being so dark and over-sexed. Other than a leading man, though, this third entry didn’t have much except the studio, knowing they wanted to include certain characters and concepts in this sequel. (The latter of which undoubtedly had a lot to do with McDonald’s refusing to participate in a tie-in with a third Batman, if Burton was attached.)įollowing Burton’s departure, Michael Keaton remained attached to reprise his role. However, eventually, Burton transitioned from director to producer on this third film due to a certain lack of interest on Burton’s part and the polite dissuasion of the studio. The young actor was involved long enough to have a Robin suit molded and fitted, as well as have prototype action figures of his character made. However, the prized sidekick role initially went to (generally) comedic actor, Marlon Wayans ( G.I. Marky-Mark himself, Mark Whalberg, was considered for the role of Robin/Dick Grayson, as were Leonardo DiCaprio, Ewan McGregor, and future Batman, Christian Bale. ĭuring this period, Burton got some casting done. The director was once again set to take the helm on what was tentatively titled Batman Continues.

Thus, despite the backlash over Batman Returns (1992) from parental and religious organizations and tie-in partners, Burton still intended to do the third film in the franchise he’d helped create. Batman was the face of comic book movies in that era, and every other comic-based flick was made in the shadow of The Bat. However, many of us, like myself, realize that Tim Burton’ s Batman (1989) is responsible for revitalizing the comic book movie sub-genre back in the day. Since Christopher Nolan ‘s Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012), the Bat flicks of 1989 and the 90s are largely ignored by the public and some of our fellow comic book fans out there. ) Alright, now that I’ve issued that caution, let’s go back 25 years and examine the neon-lit knight in Batman Forever ! In the case of this article about the film itself, I strongly recommend you DO NOT DO THAT. (For those of you who read my articles, you may notice that I occasionally jokingly suggest taking a shot every time I mention Batman Forever. As such, between Warner Brothers and DC Films ignoring the existence of Batman Forever ‘s silver anniversary and the recent unfortunate passing of the movie’s director, Joel Schumacher I think now’s a better time than ever to take a look back at Batman Forever. I’ll always have a nostalgic fondness for Batman Forever (1995), which celebrates its 25th-anniversary this summer.

Batman forever movie script