Batman Forever

This article is about the 1995 superhero film. For other uses, see Batman Forever (disambiguation).

Batman Forever
Theatrical release poster featuring Batman and various characters from the film.
Theatrical release poster by John Alvin
Directed byJoel Schumacher
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Lee Batchler
  • Janet Scott Batchler
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyStephen Goldblatt
Edited byDennis Virkler
Music byElliot Goldenthal
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros.[2]
Release dates
Running time
122 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100 million[4]
Box office$336.6 million[4]

Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.[a] It is the third installment of Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series and a sequel to Batman Returns (1992). Directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton and Peter MacGregor-Scott, it stars Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne / Batman, replacing Michael Keaton,[6] alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, and Chris O'Donnell. The film follows Batman as he attempts to prevent Two-Face (Jones) and the Riddler (Carrey) from uncovering his secret identity and extracting information from the minds of Gotham City's residents, while at the same time navigating his feelings for psychologist Dr. Chase Meridian (Kidman) and adopting orphaned acrobat Dick Grayson (O'Donnell)—who becomes his partner, Robin.

Schumacher mostly eschewed the dark, dystopian atmosphere of Burton's films by drawing inspiration from the Batman comic books of the Dick Sprang era, as well as the 1960s television series. After Keaton chose not to reprise his role, William Baldwin and Ethan Hawke were considered as a replacement, before Val Kilmer joined the cast.

Batman Forever was released on June 16, 1995, to mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visuals, action sequences, soundtrack, and performances of Carrey and Jones, but criticized the screenplay and tonal departure from previous films, while others were divided by Kilmer's performance. The film was a box office success, grossing over $336 million worldwide and becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1995. It was followed by Batman & Robin in 1997, with Schumacher returning as the director, O'Donnell returning as Robin, and George Clooney replacing Kilmer as Batman.

  1. ^ a b "Batman Forever (1995)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  2. ^ "Batman Forever (1995)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films.
  3. ^ "Batman Forever (12)". BBFC.co.uk. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Box was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "DC Entertainment To Give Classic Batman Writer Credit in 'Gotham' and 'Batman v Superman' (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. September 18, 2015. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  6. ^ Grant, Nicholas (November 21, 2020). "Batman Forever: Why Val Kilmer replaced Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved August 29, 2021.


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