In a detailed and candid profile in The New York Times, Val Kilmer has opened up about his career, his battle with cancer, and the industry as a whole. During the article, Kilmer touched on his time as Batman in the ’90s, and how he feels about the character.
Known for many roles throughout his career, Kilmer infamously played the role of Bruce Wayne in the film Batman Forever. Donning the cape and cowl after Michael Keaton’s two turns, his portrayal was met with mixed feelings at the time and led to the Top Gun actor exiting the role before the next film Batman & Robin.
Kilmer spoke about the time his family came to see him on set, and his children cared more about the props and wanting to ride in the Batmobile than him as the titular character. That’s when Kilmer realized 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.”
During the production of the 1995’s Batman Forever, reports came out that Kilmer purposefully went out of his way to make it a bad situation, and the actor discussed how filming process was not a pleasant environment for him and the crew of the film, adding: “Everyone has to work out their own salvation. How to live and by what morality, and I found that the part that I feel bad about is hurting somebody in the process.”
Batman Forever‘s director Joel Schumacher spoke to The Hollywood Reporter last year about the film and painted Kilmer’s time on set poorly, stating that: “He wanted to do Island of Doctor Moreau because Marlon Brando was going to be in it. So he dropped us at the eleventh hour.”
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What did you make of Val Kilmer’s portrayal of Batman? Would you have liked to see him returning for a second outing as the Caped Crusader? Let us know in the comments or on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Originally published May 10, 2020. Updated December 9, 2022.
