People tend to forget what an impact the original Batman had on the film industry. Prior to Tim Burton’s efforts on Batman, the biggest comic book adaptation also came from the world of DC Comics. It was Richard Donner’s Superman, but Burton’s effort was every bit as unique as the Caped Crusader is to the Blue Boy Scout. Earlier in 2023, we got to see the return of Burton’s Batman, Michael Keaton, thanks to his supporting role in the ill-fated The Flash movie. And that has opened up all sorts of interest in the world of Batman, leading to this interesting story about Batman Returns.
Once Tim Burton and Michael Keaton hit it big with Batman, a sequel was inevitable. Batman Returns was marked by the introduction of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman and Danny DeVito’s Penguin. And during an interview with IndieWire, Batman Returns screenwriter Daniel Waters discussed a joke he wanted to thread throughout his sequel, which Keaton unceremoniously nixed. According to the interview, Waters was no fan of Batman, and wanted to criticize the movie for being a merchandising machine. Waters explains that his version of Batman Returns would have opened up on a Bat logo, which would have panned down to an in-universe store. And his script would have included multiple digs at the commercialization that came from Batman being so popular – not dissimilar to the way The Flash called back to Keaton’s Batman run on several occasions.
But as Waters remembered, Michael Keaton read these jokes in the script, and simply replied:
This is very clever. Cut it.
Batman had spoken. And so, all the jokes were scrubbed. Which is probably the right call. When Batman Returns came out, meta humor was nowhere near the superhero genre, so referencing the previous movie in a winking way might have gone over the heads of audiences. Try watching the live-action Batman movies in order to see how the action and humor plays. It’s pretty tongue-in-cheek, even with Michelle Pfeiffer in a leather cat suit. Burton has defended his films over the years, but there’s really no need to. For what they are, they are damn near perfect. I love the fact that directors like Joel Schumacher, Chris Nolan, and Matt Reeves can bring their interpretations to The Batman. Burton’s take fit his voice.
The IndieWire interview focuses heavily on Burton and Waters’ plans for a Catwoman spinoff, though they were at odds over the direction the story might have taken. Speaking of, the DC Universe is about to take a hard right turn once again, rebooting itself in the mold of James Gunn and Peter Safran beginning with Superman: Legacy. Track all the fun happenings with our guide to upcoming DC movies, which we update often.
