8 Actors Who Turned Down Crazy Money To Appear In Movie Sequels

3. Michael Keaton Turned Down $15 Million To Star In Batman 3

Michael Keaton was the first actor to do justice to The Dark Knight on the big screen. This came as something of a surprise to most folk, given that Keaton - at the time - was more renowned for being a comic actor of sorts. And yet the star of Beetlejuice somehow managed to convince people that he was, indeed, the right choice for the role across the span of two very good, Tim Burton-directed movies. And so after the successful ventures that were Batman and Batman Returns, it was time for another dose with Batman 3, of course. Right? Uh, no, actually. Despite being offered the phenomenal sum of $15 million to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne in a second sequel, Michael Keaton decided that he didn't fancy it. In his own words, the movie that was pitched to him "sucked" and was plainly "awful" - a film so bad that even a $15 million paycheck couldn't convince him to sign on. The project eventually became Batman Forever, which proves that Keaton's instincts were right.
Contributor

Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.