Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Batman Triumphant film (unreleased 1999)

Most sci-fi nerds know about this (but I didn't) that would star Martin Short as "Mad Hatter", Jeff Goldblum as "Scarecrow" and Madonna as "Harleyquin" would have been interesting, with Jack Nicholson reprising his role as "Joker" as a "Scarecrow" toxin hallucination.  Apparently a script was produced but never filmed as the mega-bomb film Batman and Robin failed so miserably (with Ah-nuld as Mister Freeze) that no one wanted to touch it.  I believe Christopher O'Donnel and Alica Silverstone's careers were eliminated because of it.  Anyway...

From BatmanWiki:

During the filming of Batman & Robin, Warner Bros. was impressed with the dailies. This prompted them to immediately hire Joel Schumacher to return as director for a sequel, but writer Akiva Goldsman, who worked on Batman Forever and Batman & Robin with Schumacher, turned down the chance to write the script. In late 1996, Warner Bros. and Schumacher hired Mark Protosevich to write the script for a fifth Batman film. A projected mid-1999 release date was announced. Titled Batman Triumphant, Protosevich's script had the Scarecrow as the main villain. The Joker would return as a hallucination in Batman's mind caused by the Scarecrow's fear toxin. Harley Quinn appeared as a supporting character, written as the Joker's daughter trying to get revenge on Batman for the Joker's death. George Clooney and Chris O'Donnell were set to reprise the roles of Batman and Robin, respectively. However, when Batman & Robin received negative reviews and failed to outgross any of its predecessors, Warner Bros. was unsure of their plans for Batman Triumphant and George Clooney vowed never to wear the cape and cowl again. The studio decided it was best to consider a live-action Batman Beyond film and an adaptation of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. Warner Bros. would then greenlight whichever idea suited them the most. Schumacher felt he "owe[d] the Batman culture a real Batman movie. I would go back to the basics and make a dark portrayal of the Dark Knight." He approached Warner Bros. of doing Batman: Year One in mid-1998.

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