Val Kilmer Talks About Quitting Batman After BATMAN FOREVER
After Tim Burton completed his run on Batman, Warner Bros. brought director Joel Schumacher to work on the franchise and he ended up giving us a much different Batman with a completely different tone. It was certainly an interesting direction that does not stand the test of time.
Val Kilmer took on the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Forever, but he ended up not coming back for 1997’s Batman & Robin. Schumacher has said in previous interviews that Kilmer’s decision to drop out came from the star’s desire to star in The Island of Doctor Moreau alongside Marlon Brando. He explained that Kilmer dropped Batman “at the eleventh hour,” but the actor tells a different story of why he left.
While talking to The New York Times, he explained that he was unimpressed with the role and recalls a moment when billionaire Warren Buffett visited the set of the film with his grandkids.
Kilmer explained that he had a profound moment of realization that the character of Batman, for him, was neither special nor fun. That realization came when Buffett showed up on the set with his grandkids. He described how he remained in his Batsuit after hearing they were going to stop by to entertain the kids, but the kids showed no interest in talking to him and they only wanted to play with the props and ride in the Batmobile. It’s there he realized there wasn’t anything special about playing Batman and that anyone could wear the mask. “That’s why it’s so easy to have five or six Batmans. It’s not about Batman. There is no Batman.”
Kilmer talked about how he “relished” in playing characters with depth like Doc Holliday in Tombstone, and when he couldn’t play those characters he wanted to play characters he could have some fun with and even expressed his desire for wanting to be on Saturday Night Live. But, playing Batman obviously wasn’t fun for him, and he didn’t see how he could bring depth to the character, so, he left.
I actually liked Kilmer as Batman! Schumacher was just the wrong director making those movies.