In 1995, after the two Tim Burton films, it was the filmmaker Joel Schumacher who inherited the film. of the Batman franchise. He first put Batman Forever on stage. The opportunity to discover Val Kilmer in the skin of the Dark Knight. Then, two years later, he offered Batman & Robin, the worst movie in the history of the Dark Knight. For a while, the filmmaker even had to direct a third part, which would have been stuffed surprises:
Batman: when Joel Schumacher ruins the license
After Batman and Batman, the Challenge, by Tim Burton, released in 1989 and 1992 respectively, filmmaker Joel Schumacher (The Number 23, Phone Game, 8 mm) recovers the Batman saga. In 1995, still under the watchful eye of Warner, Joel Schumacher directed Batman Forever. Val Kilmer succeeds Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne in a story where; he opposes two iconic villains: Double Face and The Mystery Man. For the occasion, the greats Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey are presenting ;tend their features to the two characters. The feature film also features Chris O’Donnell as Robin, who will return for the second installment. Although reviews were very mixed, Batman Foreverreported more than $336 million in box office revenue, which has driven the Warner at; produce a sequel.
In 1997, Joel Schumacher returns behind the camera with Batman & Robin, which instantly became the worst Batman movie ever. George Clooney succeeds Val Kilmer in a visually detestable kitsch adventure, nonetheless carried by an impressive cast including Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr Freeze and Uma Thurman strong> as Poison Ivy. With only $238 million in revenue, Batman & Robin is one of the worst results of the license at the box office.
An unexpected third episode< /h2>
What we know less is that the adventure was to continue at; through a third film. Indeed, Joel Schumacher wanted to direct Batman Triumphant. A third episode to conclude the trilogy which would have presented two new villains: The Scarecrow and Harley Quinn. The latter would have been rewritten as the Joker’s daughter, seeking to avenge the death of his father.
In a sequence planned by Schumacher, Batman would have been poisoned by the poisonous fumes of The ÉScarecrow. A confrontation that would have resulted in an impressive hallucination of the Dark Knight, who would have found himself to face old demons. Indeed, the filmmaker wanted to oppose Batman to Danny DeVito’s Penguin. Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman Double-Face by Tommy Lee Jones and &àgrave; Jim Carrey’s Riddler. This confrontation (although imaginary) would have ended in a superb apotheosis where the masked vigilante would have found himself facing Jack Nicholson’s Joker.
A truly mind-blowing sequence that would have brought the biggest villains of the previous Batman films, whether Tim Burton’s or Joel Schumacher’s 1st opus. A scene like Spider-Man: No Way Home, more than 20 years ahead of Marvel Studios. Joel Schumacher would have liked take this Batman Triumphant to a darker and more mature dimension compared to the two previous opuses.
What we don’t know is that, even if Batman Forever and Batman & Robin are much more popular than the two previous Tim Burton films, these four films take place in the same universe. Initially, the two Schumacher films were sequels to the two Tim Burton productions. Which would have explained the presence of all these characters. As for Harley Quinn, so she would have been the daughter of the Joker incarnate by Jack Nicholson in the first Batman. Unfortunately, Joel Schumacher never had the opportunity to to produce Batman Triumphant. Facing the critical and financial failure of Batman & Robin, Warner preferred; put an end to this license, and this until 2005 with Batman Begins.