20 Things You Didn't Know About Batman & Robin

11. William Baldwin Thought He'd Been Cast As Batman... Again

Batman & Robin
Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros.

Poor, poor William Baldwin. After coming so very close to getting cast as the title character in Batman Forever, with Joel Schumacher telling the actor it was between him and Val Kilmer and the studio had picked the latter, he got even closer when it came time to recasting the Dark Knight once again.

According to Baldwin, Schumacher told him he was on the final shortlist for Forever, but the studio decided to go with the more experienced Kilmer. When meeting to discuss Batman & Robin, the director apologized for not making him Batman the last time, presumably based on the issues he'd experienced with the famously volatile Kilmer, and said the role would be his this time around.

The way Baldwin tells it, Schumacher had told him he'd be Batman on the Friday, but when he checked the trade papers on Monday morning, there was indeed a new Caped Crusader in town... except it wasn't him, it was George Clooney.

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