BATMAN & ROBIN Writer Akiva Goldsman Apologizes For The Movie: "We Didn't Mean For It To Be Bad"

BATMAN & ROBIN Writer Akiva Goldsman Apologizes For The Movie: "We Didn't Mean For It To Be Bad"

Batman & Robin is still referred to as one of the worst superhero movies of all-time, and writer Akiva Goldsman (Star Trek: Discovery) has now elaborated on what went wrong with the DC Comics adaptation...

By JoshWilding - May 16, 2020 05:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Batman (1989)
Source: Collider

Collider recently caught up with writer Akiva Goldsman, and asked the prolific writer about working on 1997's Batman & Robin, a critical and commercial flop which damn near killed the franchise. It would take eight years for the Caped Crusader to return to the big screen, but Goldsman has now made it clear that everyone involved wants fans to know they're sorry.

"We're all sorry," Goldsman, who now works on the likes of Star Trek: Discovery, Picard, and DC Universe's Titans, said. "As for Batman & Robin, that one just confused me. I mean, we didn't mean for it to be bad. I swear, nobody was like, 'This will be bad.'"

Going on to discuss the criticism of the movie's childish tone, he added: "We were really thinking...I mean, here's the irony: There was a reel that was put together halfway through [filming] where it actually looked dark in an interesting way. It just is what it is and I'm sorry. I think we're all sorry." Goldsman also noted that Batman & Robin didn't have the "alchemy" needed to make it a hit.

Despite the response to Batman & Robin, the initial plan was for Joel Schumacher to direct another film in his trilogy title Batman Unchained. That would have seen George Clooney's Dark Knight taking on Scarecrow, but Goldsman was never attached to that project, and writing duties were instead handed to Mark Protosevich. Ultimately, Warner Bros. decided to head down another route. 

Are you able to forgive Goldsman for his involvement in the movie?

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Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 5/16/2020, 5:28 AM


I love it.
Canon108
Canon108 - 5/16/2020, 5:30 AM
Maybe he should've submitted a second draft or done some research beforehand...cause it was Adam West level bad.
Nebula
Nebula - 5/16/2020, 5:40 AM
@Canon108 - "I swear, nobody was like, 'This will be bad.'"
How? Therein lies your problem.
AC1
AC1 - 5/16/2020, 5:53 AM
@Canon108 - no, Batman & Robin was far, far worse. Batman '66 was intentionally camp because that was what was popular at the time. Batman & Robin was just... *shudders*

I have to admit though I loved it as a kid, I was 3 when it came out and all I cared about was Batman and bright colours and stuff. In hindsight I wish I'd actually had Batman '66 as an option instead.
tmp3
tmp3 - 5/16/2020, 5:57 AM
@Canon108 - The Adam West show was good. It was a parody of Batman, and it openly mocks the comics at the time, but it's a very funny show with a cool pop-art vibe. The people behind Batman & Robin seemed to have missed out on the joke, and actually is the kind of garbage that '66 was parodying.
RolandD
RolandD - 5/16/2020, 6:44 AM
@tmp3 - No one wanted Adam West Batman to be the Batman we got on screen in the '90's. We could always watch the old show which was good fun. I don't think Batman Forever was much, if any better. Carrey's Riddler and Jones' Two-Face ruined that movie for me more than anything. They also were way too camp. They both are excellent actors when the script calls for it and someone restrains Carrey or just expects him to act and not goof. Schumacher and the studio are to blame for both of these messes.
Origame
Origame - 5/16/2020, 7:34 AM
@AC1 - well i mean batman and robin was intended to be campy too. It and batman forever were direct responses to how the McDonald's toys for batman returns was boycotted for the movie being too dark. Maybe they were hoping for a bit darker approach closer to what we got in forever but this was always intended to be campy.
dracula
dracula - 5/16/2020, 9:26 AM
@Canon108 - Adam West rocks
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 5/16/2020, 5:38 AM
They literally used to put this movie on at The Boys & Girls Club to pacify us as kids -- and even we hated it.

I genuinely believed it was meant for children until these very comments (which I still kind of feel are being made tongue-in-cheek).
Origame
Origame - 5/16/2020, 7:35 AM
@EskimoJ - i think its meant to deflect criticism. All the interviews at the time from the actors compared it to a toy commercial.
Nebula
Nebula - 5/16/2020, 5:38 AM
Yet they continue to pump out bad stuff.
tmp3
tmp3 - 5/16/2020, 5:55 AM
@Nebula - I was gonna say "them? Don't you mean him?", but then I just checked and found that Joel Schumacher's last few movies have even worse reviews than Batman & Robin.
Nebula
Nebula - 5/16/2020, 6:47 AM
@tmp3 - "Akiva Goldsman" is a kinda gender-neutral name so I don't know where to go with it.
tmp3
tmp3 - 5/16/2020, 5:50 AM
Is Akiva gonna apologize for Titans next?
Reeds2Much
Reeds2Much - 5/16/2020, 5:58 AM
"We Didn't Mean For It To Be Bad"

It's unintentional horribleness makes it that much more so-bad-it's-good.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 5/16/2020, 6:11 AM
Never thought he tried to make it bad on purpose anyway, just wish he learned from it. But that semi-edgy Titans series isn't really an indication to me that he actually did
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 5/16/2020, 6:32 AM
@MalseMarcel - To be fair, Titans is bad in a completely different way from why Batman and Robin is bad. B&R is too campy and Titans is too edgy. In some ways, you could say he overcompensated with Titans.
Tasmaniac
Tasmaniac - 5/16/2020, 6:24 AM
“we didn’t mean for it to be bad”

Oh. Well, in that case it’s Ok then.

Oh wait, NO IT’S [frick]ING NOT. I want the 2 hours of my life back I wasted on that steaming pile of shit.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 5/16/2020, 6:31 AM
When you think about it, it's kinda understandable to make a mistake and make a Batman film too campy. Let's say the writers grew up with the 60s show. Maybe they just wanted to do something like that and turned it into a schlock fest.
RolandD
RolandD - 5/16/2020, 6:48 AM
@Nightwing1015 - I grew up with the Batman show. I didn't want anything like this. Batman '89 was a step in the right direction. Batman Returns was a little too weird or dark. Then Schumacher and the studio did an over correction which was anything but correct. Thank goodness the studio finally saw the error of their ways and brought Nolan in.
Nightwing1015
Nightwing1015 - 5/16/2020, 7:24 AM
@RolandD - Yeah I agree dark Batman is better. But you can't blame them for thinking camp was better. Because camp Batman shows like Batman 66 and The Brave and the Bold were extremely popular. So in their mind they were probably doing a version of Batman based on the 60s show.
HulkisHoly
HulkisHoly - 5/16/2020, 12:31 PM
@RolandD -

What’s with WB/DC and overcorrecting??
IE. Batman v Superman to then Justice League or the SS recut of the film??
RolandD
RolandD - 5/16/2020, 2:51 PM
@HulkisHorny - Yep. They need a Feige of their own.
HulkisHoly
HulkisHoly - 5/16/2020, 4:11 PM
@RolandD - they need to let people make their movies. MOS was decent but then WB course corrected SS, BVS, and JL which completely butchered them all.
Only WW, AM, and Shazam we’re given more creative control.
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