George Clooney recently reunited with hisOne Fine Dayco-star Michelle Pfeiffer for an in-depth conversation on Variety’sActors on Actorsseries. One of the projects the two discussed was 1997’sBatman & Robin, Clooney’s one and only stab atplaying the Dark Knighton the big screen. Helmed by Joel Schumacher, the campy blockbuster was met with unanimously negative reviews and has gained a reputation as one of the worst comic book movies ever made.
The box office failure ofBatman & Robinnearly killed the franchise and it wouldn’t be revived untilChristopher Nolan madeBatman Beginsalmost a decade later. In conversation with Pfeiffer, who previously played Catwoman in the much more successfulBatman Returns, Clooney revealed what he learned fromBatman & Robin’s failure. The actor explained, “AfterBatman & Robincame out, and it was a big bomb – you learn from your failures, you don’t learn from successes – so, then, I thought, I have to focus really on the script. It’s not just about my part; it’s about the whole movie.”
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What the A-lister learned fromBatman & Robinis that the opportunity to play an exciting role likeGotham’s cowled protectorisn’t enough to make a project worthwhile – the movie itself has to tell a great story. Clooney noted that, after his sole outing as the Dark Knight, “The next three films I did wereOut of Sight,O Brother, Where Art Thou?, andThree Kings, which were really great screenplays. They didn’t all do very well financially, but they were all critically well-received.”
Clooney’s one-movie stint in the role of Bruce Wayne had a profound effect on his career. At one point, it was reported that if somebody told Clooney they’d paid to seeBatman & Robinin theaters, he would take out his wallet andreimburse them out of his own pocket. When Ben Affleck was first offered the chance to play the Caped Crusader inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Clooney advised him not to take the role.
While Clooney blames himself forBatman & Robin’s downfall, Chris O’Donnell and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performances have beenjust as poorly received, and the movie’s main problem is that Schumacher forced the tone of the Adam West TV series into a movie that doesn’t suit it. Schumacher has since joined Clooney in apologizing to audiences for the movie. Clooney added, “It became clear to me that you can make a bad film out of a good script, but you can’t make a good film out of a bad script. I gravitate toward pieces that interest me. They don’t always end up working, because there are so many things that can go wrong, including me.”
As it stands, the Caped Crusader has a bright future on the silver screen. Matt Reeves’The Batmanwill introduce Robert Pattinson in the role and its gloomy trailers are very promising. In the wider DCEU, Ben Affleck’s version of the Dark Knight will be seen inZack Snyder’s Justice Leagueand Michael Keaton’s incarnation of the DC hero is making a surprise reappearance in Ezra Miller’s long-delayedFlashmovie. Meanwhile, Clooney can be seen in Netflix’s new sci-fi dramaThe Midnight Sky, which he also directed, and Pfeiffer will next be seen in the surreal comedyFrench Exitopposite Lucas Hedges.
The Batmanis scheduled to be released in theaters on June 10, 2025.
