I grew up on Tim Burton and those first two Batman movies. I was obsessed and continuously rewatching them. My fandom stopped once "Batman Forever" happened, which was met with a resounding "WTF?" I mean, it's one thing changing Tim Burton for Joel Schumacher as the director, but replacing Michael Keaton with Val Kilmer as Batman was the final straw for me. I wouldn't be a fan again until Christopher Nolan took over. I do, however, still think Keaton has been the best on-screen Batman we have ever had. He just nailed the caped crusader in a way that not even Christian Bale could.
Well, it seems like Keaton made the right decision because he claims that he didn't return for the series because the screenplay underwhelemed him.
“It sucked,” Keaton said about the script he read. “I knew it was in trouble when he [Schumacher] said, ‘Why does everything have to be so dark?’ ”
This isn't the first time Keaton bashes "Batman Forever." Per Screen Rant, in a 2014 appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, Keaton said he turned down a $15 million payday because “it sucked…Yeah, it was just awful!”
Over the years, Keaton has had this to say about his time playing Batman:
"Having played Batman and being very proud of playing Batman. I never back off that. The idea was bold, interesting, and cool when Tim made it. I didn’t really put it together, Edward did [a superhero movie] too. I just go to work."