Val Kilmer has always been popular among the fans, and they are curious about why he left Batman in the first place. The actor was born in Los Angeles, California, and began his career in the entertainment industry in the early 80s. He was cast in some of the huge films, such as Top Secret in 1984 and Real Genius in 1985.
One of his notable works that brought him critical acclaim was The Doors in 1991. He played the character of Jim Morrison in the film. Soon his career took off, and he starred in some of the most famous films, such as Batman Forever and Tombstone.
Coming to his role in Batman Forever, which was released in 1995, Val played the role of the titular character. He was cast in the lead after Michael Keaton left the franchise. We saw how Keaton had a dark outlook on the whole Batman character, and it was a more serious role for him.
Comparing the same to Val’s character, it was pretty campy and light-hearted. When the film was released, there were mixed reviews from critics about his performance. Some said that his charisma was sweet and really suited to bring a sense of humor to the character to make it a bit light-hearted.
Val Kelmer Was Not in Batman and Robin
Although, some were against it at all costs saying that his character lacked the depth that Keaton’s did have. Even though there were two sorts of opinions on his role, the film went on to become a huge success at the box office and grossed over 336 million US dollars.
Later down the line, Batman and Robin were released in 1997, but Kilmer was not cast as Batman again. He was replaced by George Clooney in the lead role. Well, fans are now curious why this happened and why Val did not return as Batman.
While talking about the same, Val said that he enjoyed playing Batman a lot and would love to play the character again if he is presented with the opportunity in the future. Although it has been a long time since we haven’t seen him in the lead role, it is highly unlikely he will be cast as Batman again.
Why Did Val Kilmer Leave After Batman Forever?
Val Kilmer had to leave Batman and his huge role for a few reasons. First were scheduling conflicts where Val Kilmer was filming The Saint. It was a thriller film where we saw the lead as a high-tech thief and master of disguise.
This was when he was offered another role in Batman but would not accept it because of scheduling conflicts. He ultimately tried to negotiate a way to do both films, but the time was restrained, and it was just not possible for him to be present in both projects.
The second reason which was reported was that Kilmer had some creative differences with director Joel Schumacher at the time. Joel wanted to make the films lighter for audiences of all ages, like we saw in Batman Forever. He wanted to do it campy, but Kilmer wished to retain the authenticity of the character and wanted to keep it serious and sound.
Later, Kilmer even revealed that one of the reasons for his exit was that he was just molded into the character of Batman by fans and wanted to be more than that. Val said that he wanted to explore more work in the industry and try new characters.
While talking about the same in 2020, Val Kilmer said that he truly regrets not coming back for Batman and Robin at the time because it could have changed his career forever. But at the time, he was tired and did not like the direction in which the films were heading at.
Even though there were other conflicts as well, like the ones described above in scheduling and creative differences, Val ultimately made the decision that felt right to him at the time.
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