Robert Pattinson, (who’s poised to return for “The Batman 2”), Ben Affleck, and the late, great Val Kilmer. Each performer — and director — has portrayed the character in their own distinct style, from Christian Bale’s muscular, gravelly-voiced hero in Christopher Nolan’s thrilling “Dark Knight” trilogy, to Michael Keaton’s darker, more intense interpretation of the world’s foremost detective in Tim Burton’s stylish Batman films. Every cinematic Batman adaptation leaves a mark in its own way — yet not always for positive reasons.
Debuted in 1997, and deemed by critics to be the quintessential worst Batman film ever made, Joel Schumacher’s playful “Batman & Robin” had — in theory — the potential to succeed, with George Clooney donning the iconic attire of Batman/Bruce Wayne, confronting Arnold Schwarzenegger’s menacing Mr. Freeze and Uma Thurman’s seductive Poison Ivy. Nevertheless, the movie was met with such dismal reactions that Clooney — who acknowledges he was “bad in it” — admits more than twenty years later, it is “physically” hard for him to watch.
Thus, it was unexpected to witness Clooney reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman for a fleeting cameo at the conclusion of 2023’s “The Flash” — 26 years post the last time he wore the cape. Below, we explore how and why DC Studios executive James Gunn invited Clooney back for one of superhero cinema’s most unforeseen cameos.