Why Did George Clooney Do BATMAN AND ROBIN? He Finally Gives His Reasoning

George Clooney has taken quite a bit of slack for being in what many consider the worst Batman movie ever, BATMAN AND ROBIN. Come to think about it, I think it’s the worst adaptation of Batman ever…but that’s just my opinion…

But what many don’t realize is the film was actually a huge break for Clooney, and to play Batman in the next film after Val Kilmer and Michael Keaton was an honor.

Clooney told TotalFilm:

“The truth is, my phone rang, and the head of Warner Bros said, ‘Come into my office, you are going to play Batman in a Batman film.’ And I said, ‘Yeah!’ I called my friends and they screamed and I screamed and we couldn’t believe it!”

“The last one had been successful, so I thought I was just going to be in a big, successful franchise movie. [And] in a weird way I was. Batman is still the biggest break I ever had and it completely changed my career, even if it was weak and I was weak in it. It was a difficult film to be good in. I don’t know what I could have done differently. But if I am going to be Batman in the film ‘Batman and Robin,’ I can’t say it didn’t work and then not take some of the blame for that.”

After BATMAN AND ROBIN grossed $238 million at the box office (remember, this is also at 1998 ticket prices), Clooney was immediately cast in such films as OUT OF SIGHT and THREE KINGS. So maybe it isn’t too far off to say that if Clooney wasn’t in BATMAN AND ROBIN, maybe he wouldn’t have been the leading man that he is today…?

Something to think about…