The Batman Appreciation Thread

In 1993, Batman was at a crossroads.

Just four years earlier, Tim Burton had achieved what many thought impossible — launching a big screen take on the Dark Knight that was both critically acclaimed and a commercial hit. Burton's Batman was not the campy version Adam West had popularized on TV in the 1960s.

But Batman Returns, Burton's 1992 followup, left studio Warner Bros. itching for a change. While the film was successful, it fell $145 million short of the 1989 film's $411.3 million global gross. Its darker tone and grotesque villain Penguin (Danny DeVito) was far less toy friendly than Jack Nicholson's Joker, with merchandising an ever-growing key to franchise health. Burton and the studio mutually agreed the director would step back and take a producing role for a third Batman film.

Enter Joel Schumacher, a veteran director who would change the course of Batman's onscreen history more than anyone could have imagined (and not just with anatomically correct suits).

With Michael Keaton later dropping out as Batman, Val Kilmer stepped into the cape and cowl as Bruce Wayne/Batman. A slew of notable franchise newcomers rounded out the cast, including Jim Carrey (The Riddler, originally to be played by Robin Williams), Tommy Lee Jones (who took convincing to join as Harvey Dent/Two-Face) Chris O'Donnell (Robin) and Nicole Kidman (love interest Dr. Chase Meridian). Schumacher personally had to meet with distributors around the world to get them to carry the film. Most toy companies turned their noses up at the project.

When Batman Forever hit theaters 20 years ago on June 16, 1995, it was colorful and splashy, like a comic book panel come to life. Defying all expectations, it went on to break the then-record for opening weekend at the box office with $52.2 million on its way to a $336.5 million global haul.