12 People Who Hated Working On DC Movies

5. Joel Schumacher - Batman Forever & Batman & Robin

The established logic of most Batman movie criticism accepts implicitly that Joel Schumacher was the reason why Batman Forever and Batman & Robin are so poorly received. The reality is that he was at the mercy of a studio who had very specific ideas of what they wanted to make and he's far from proud of what he achieved with Batman & Robin.

He actually had a rule not to go back for sequels, but he broke it for Batman & Robin as "the studio had been very generous to me, and much was expected of me by the toy manufacturers and the Warner Bros. stores." He does say he's proud of the cast and crew, but that it's not his favourite movie he's made and wished at the time that he could have made The Dark Knight. Instead, the studio pressured him into making their toy-friendly version.

Schumacher might also reserve praise for Val Kilmer in hindsight, but he's previously spoken about the difficulties he had on set with his Batman Forever lead, saying "working with him…[is] like working with nitroglycerin. [It] can blow up on you.”