12 Least Successful Recastings Of Iconic Film Characters

4. Val Kilmer - Bruce Wayne/ Batman

Film: Batman Forever (1995) Replacing: Michael Keaton The obvious choice when talking about the early Batman films would be to single out the casting of George Clooney in Batman and Robin - and sure enough, he does a pretty awful job. But all too often people are soft on Batman Forever, which for all its goofy charm represented a big climb-down from the heights of Batman Returns. Fellow WhatCulture! columnist Alex Leadbetter has already laid into the film here, but there's one crucial thing that he forgot to mention: Val Kilmer's planky performance as the Caped Crusader. After Batman Returns underperformed at the box office, Warner Bros. wanted to take the series in a more family-friendly direction. Tim Burton stayed on as producer but Joel Schumacher replaced him as director, and set about "lightening down" Burton's early concept for the Riddler. Michael Keaton, disatisfied with this new direction and wanting to vary the roles he played, turned down $15m to appear in the film. Schumacher hired Kilmer on the basis of his performance in Tombstone, and Kilmer signed on without knowing who the director was and without having even read the script. It's very hard to act when only half of your face can be seen. It's a challenge that each of the actors who've played Batman have had to face, with Keaton bringing dry wit and aggression and Christian Bale relying heavily on the voice to intimidate people. Kilmer, on the other hand, acts overly haughty as Bruce Wayne and seems to spend all his time in the mask either pouting or mumbling. It's a very good example of making the very least of the props and costume, setting a low bar under which Clooney subsequently limboed.