Why Val Kilmer Played the Batman Just Once?

There are some characters that never die. Batman is easily one of them. Even after 80 years of the original creation of the Batman concept, its brand image is still very strong. Any chance to play Batman on the screen will be a huge opportunity for any actor. Maybe, it can be the role of a lifetime. But why will some actor leave such a chance? A chance to play Bruce Wayne on screen is simply too much to resist. 25 years later, here we have such a story.

Val Kilmer now 60 years old has now spilled the beans why he played the role of Batman just once. Val Kilmer starred in 1995 film “Batman Forever” as the omnipresent Batman. The film was directed by Joel Schumacher and featured Chris O’Donnell as Robin, Tommy Lee Lones as Harvey Dent, Jim Carrey as the Riddler, and Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian.

Read about other Batman movies here.

The Actual Reason as told by Val Kilmer

A single actor if gets a chance plays Batman in at least 5-6 movies, but Val Kilmer played the role just once. It was rumored that Val was difficult to work with on film set. Now Val Kilmer has finally disclosed his reason for quitting the Batman franchise.

While talking with New York Times’ Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Kilmer retold that particular instant which made him clear that he didn’t want to play Batman after ‘Batman Forever’.Val recalled that one day in between filming, he stayed in costume because he heard visitors were coming to set who wanted to see him in his costume. Those visitors turned out to be Warren Buffet and his grandchildren, who apparently were less interested in seeing him all suited and booted and more interested in looking at the sets and props, including the Batmobile.

This moment made him realize it doesn’t matter who is portraying Batman: “That’s why it’s so easy to have five or six Batmans. It’s not about Batman. There is no Batman.”

Kilmer also debunked the myth behind his reputation of being difficult to work with and hence losing work opportunity. He replied, “Everyone has to work out their own salvation. How to live and by what morality, and I found that the part that I feel bad about is hurting somebody in the process.”

Read about the delays in the upcoming Batman movie here

With Kilmer or without him, Batman has always been a huge hit. After him, the protection of Gotham was passed to George Clooney,  Christian Bale, and Ben Affleck.