Comic Books
Joel Schumacher’s ‘Batman Forever’ Turns 20 This Year
The rest of the cast included Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian, Jim Carrey as Edward Nygma / The Riddler, Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Dent / Two-Face, Chris O’Donnell as Dick Grayson / Robin, and Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth. Since it is the 20th anniversary of Batman Forever, let’s discuss 10 facts about the film.
Fact #1
This film marks the first appearance of Arkham Asylum, the fictional psychiatric hospital in the Batman universe, in any live action film.
Fact #2
The Batsuit was so heavy that Val Kilmer lost five pounds just filming the opening fight scene.
Fact #3
The Batmobile was usually driven by stunt drivers , but Chris O’Donnell insisted on driving it himself during the joyride scene – but he crashed it into a curb causing a dent in the fender.
Fact #4
Michelle Pfeiffer was considered to reprise her role as Catwoman from Batman Returns.
Fact #5
Val Kilmer learned he received the role of Batman while he was in a bat cave in Africa, conducting research for the film The Ghost and The Darkness (talk about a major coincidence).
Fact #6
Batman creator Bob Kane said in a Cinescape interview that Val Kilmer had given the best interpretation among all the actors who have portrayed the Dark Knight up to the release of this film.
Fact #7
Doctor Burton, the doctor in Arkham Asylum, was named after producer Tim Burton.
Fact #8
In the film, Robin exclaims, “Holy rusted metal, Batman!!” This line was an homage to Burt Ward’s Robin from the television series Batman in 1966.
Fact #9
In this film, Kilmer plays a protagonist pursuing a team of armed robbers; however, in Heat, he is part of a gang of armed robbers being pursued. That’s an interesting role reversal.
Fact #10
Jim Carrey had a hand in the design of his costumes.