Star Trek Guide

Batman & Robin Writer Apologizes: 'We Didn't Mean for It to Be Bad'

01207.3 – Discovery, News, 76900.1 – Picard
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Batman & Robin writer Akiva Goldsman has apologized for the 1997 superhero movie flop and reassured fans he never meant for the movie to be bad.

Goldsman's recent writing credits include Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard and Titans. However, his earlier work brought the Caped Crusader to life in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Goldsman recently opened up about what went wrong with Schumacher's sequel, which is now regarded as one of the worst comic book movies of all time.

"We're all sorry," Goldsman told Collider. "As for Batman & Robin, that one just confused me. I mean, we didn't mean for it to be bad. I swear, nobody was like, 'This will be bad.'"

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He went on to discuss criticism of the movie's tone and added, "We were really thinking… I mean, here's the irony: There was a reel that was put together halfway through [filming] where it actually looked dark in an interesting way. It just is what it is and I'm sorry. I think we're all sorry." He also admitted Batman & Robin didn't have the "alchemy" needed to make it a success.

Despite George Clooney taking over from Val Kilmer, Batman & Robin picked up where Batman Forever left off and gave an expanded part to Chris O'Donnell's Dick Grayson. Although Uma Thurman was praised for her portrayal of Poison Ivy, others weren't as kind to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze and Alicia Silverstone's Batgirl. Clooney himself admitted he "wasn't good in it" and Schumacher has apologized on several occasions. Now, Goldsman has added his name to this list.

Despite Batman & Robin getting critically panned, Schumacher was originally expected to helm a third movie. Goldsman had already declined the offer to return, leading Mark Protosevich to be hired for Batman Unchained. The leads were supposed to reprise their roles, while Nicolas Cage was tipped to play Scarecrow. Schumacher had wanted to return to the darker tone he had originally planned, but in the end, Batman & Robin's commercial failure led the studio to pull the plug on the franchise until Batman Begins in 2005.

Source: www.cbr.com