George Clooney Has A Blunt Statement On His Batman Future
Joel Schumacher's 1997 superhero flick "Batman & Robin" has often been considered by internet pundits to be one of the worst of all Hollywood blockbusters. A friend of mine once suggested that it would be better to watch "Batman & Robin" with a Spanish-language track and English subtitles, as that would make it feel more like a Mexican luchador film. If the film were about El Santo and Blue Demon instead of Batman and Robin, then perhaps it would have been more openly embraced. As it stands, "Batman & Robin" was a financial disappointment, making $235 million worldwide on a $125 million budget. That seems like a success, but one should recall the amount of advertising and marketing that went into a film of this size back in 1997.
One should also recall that "Batman & Robin" was widely derided, currently holding a mere 11% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review, Roger Ebert said "Batman & Robin" looked like "an Art-Deco garbage disposal." In late 2023, one might be hard-pressed to find any genuine, non-ironic affection for the film.
At the center of "Batman & Robin" is George Clooney as Bruce Wayne, frustratingly breezing his way through the role without much in the way of interest. Clooney certainly has the right chin for the Batman costume, but the actor has gone on record with how often he apologizes for his role in it.
Clooney at least had enough of a sense of humor to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne for a cute, one-minute epilogue for Andy Muschietti's notorious 2023 bomb "The Flash," having a little fun with his Batman notoriety.
But, in a red carpet interview with ET, Clooney noted that he would never — no, never — go back.
My Batman has rubber nipples
When asked how his "The Flash" cameo came about, George Clooney couldn't help but be flippant, joking that "there was such a clamor for me to come back as Batman. As you know! ... Why are you making that face?" He also joked about a notorious costume design choice to add nipples to the Batman, Robin, and Batgirl suits. "They would say 'Can we do it without the nipples?' And I was like, 'Well, that's not really MY Batman, is it?" Of course, the real question then dropped: "Can they convince you again?" Clooney was blunt:
"I don't think there's enough drugs in the world for me to go back."
Clooney's cameo in "The Flash" was brought about by a multidimensional conceit that allowed the title hero (Ezra Miller) to run so fast, he could pass into alternate dimensions. Michael Keaton, who played Batman in Tim Burton's 1989 film, played a substantial role in the film, and the "Flash" finale infamously featured CGI recreations of other famous superhero actors from throughout film and TV history. "The Flash" may have initially meant to open up a vast interdimensional superhero universe, but the DC Extended Universe films have been ended and including Clooney is no longer reasonably viable, even if he was interested.
It's also worth remembering that Clooney's two Batman appearances are two of the most notorious failures the studio-backed superhero genre has yet offered. Interest has waned, big-budget movies are tanking, and no one would be excited. Clooney is wise to stay away.