In 1997, Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin was met with such disapproval that it placed The World’s Greatest Detective on an indefinite hiatus — a hiatus that was upheld until the beginning of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy in 2005. And now, almost twenty years later, George Clooney has issued an apology to Bat-fans around the world for the cringe-worthy dialogue, filmmaking mishaps and yes, even the by-now infamous Batsuit nipples.
Talking during the NYCC panel for his upcoming sci-fi film, Tomorrowland (which just debuted its first world-bending trailer), the actor spoke candidly about his run in with fan-favourite Adam West at the event.
“I think since Batman that I’ve been disinvited from Comic-Con for 20 years. I see the comment sections on all you guys. I just met Adam West there [referring to behind the NYCC main stage] and I apologized to him. Sorry about the nipples on the suit. Freeze, freeze, I apologize for that.”
Clooney isn’t the only one to look back on Batman & Robin with regret: Schumacher has in the past revealed how the studio pushed to make the big-screen movie more kid-friendly, hence the goofy action sequences coupled with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s horrible, horrible one-liners.
Ultimately, it’s refreshing to see Clooney bear the brunt of the film’s shortcomings and, like the rest of us have for the past two decades, have a good chuckle at its bizarre vision of The Caped Crusader. Now, though, the Bat-Signal remains firmly trained on Ben Affleck, who will don the cap and cowl for Zack Synder’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice when it hits theatres in the early stages of 2016.
With Batman & Robin firmly behind him, George Clooney will be next seen in Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland, which opens on May 22nd, 2015.